Life in the Empire
by my shangri-la
Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels. Rating: Change to M for language and content in upcoming chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story.**

**A/N: Geez, here we go again. Umm… 'Life in the Empire' is going to be its own Universe. I'll probably update as separate one-shots, and make a note in the summary about order for follow ups… These are all going to probably have a pretty gritty feel to them in the way of tone… I'll make note of any warnings that might be necessary. **

Letty pulled her silver Lexus around the back of the bar. She glared at the oncoming clouds in the distance, pulling the collar of her leather jacket closer to her neck as she jogged up the cement staircase and shoved her key into the lock to let herself into the back room.

One of the bouncers was waiting for her.

She sighed. "Where is he?"

"Upstairs office. He told me not to call you."

Letty smirked. "Yeah, 'cause he knows I'm the scary bitch around here." She passed him a fifty dollar bill. "Thanks, Nico."

"Anytime", he nodded.

"You can go if you want. I'll lock up here."

He nodded.

"Good luck, Letty."

Letty walked out of the room and around the corner to the stair case that led upstairs, her heels clacking on the linoleum. The door was open and she leaned her hip against the doorjamb. "Who'd you piss off today, Toretto?" she asked mildly.

"Dion and I had a disagreement over product", he said flatly.

"You could have called me", she rolled her eyes.

He glared, finally glancing over at her. "He stares at your tits. I would have punched him anyway." His head tilted curiously, taking in her thigh-length gold dress and matching shoes and her pinned up hair. "You look nice."

"We have a meeting downtown tonight", she reminded, raising an exasperated eyebrow. "I have your suit in the car."

"Shit", he muttered. "Thanks, Let."

"Mhm", she smiled slightly and went to the refrigerator for an ice pack, coming back and pressing it gently against the side of his face. "Now let's fix your face. As much as I like the roughed-up look, we can't go see Mateo when you've got a swollen eye. He'll think I beat on you."

Dominic laughed under his breath, mood lightening a bit as she straddled one of his thighs. "You know he calls you my 'old lady', right?"

Her mouth twitched. "Yeah, and last month when we went to dinner he _very casually_ asked me if you'd talked to me about signing a pre-nump."

"He what?"

She shook her head. "Don't get hot under the collar about it, Dom."

"Letty, what did you say?"

"That you were the one that put this nice rock on my finger, and if you wanted to discuss that with me, you'd have the balls to do it yourself." She spun the engagement ring around her finger absently with her thumb.

He grinned. "That's my girl."

"And I mentioned I had plenty of my own money in the bank account from my days working the pole."

"Leticia!" he slapped her thigh. "You did not!"

She let out a throaty laugh. "No, I didn't", she admitted.

"Scare the hell out of me, woman", he said gruffly, hands curling around her neck. "That's just what I need. Your father coming to town to kill me for those kind of rumors travelling around."

"Uh-uh, pal", she protested, catching one of his wrists. "Don't mess up my hair."

He eyed her with amusement. "I like it better down."

"You can take it down later", she promised with a naughty grin.

"Thanks for doing this with me", he said seriously.

"What's that?"

"Everything. Couldn't ask for a better partner."

"Good thing I love you then, huh?"

"Do you?"

She smirked, "Yeah. I mean sure, your shit drives me damn crazy sometimes, but I always thought perfection would be fucking boring." _They were solid, always. And they both knew it._

He laughed. "Spoken like a true lady", he teased, left hand sneaking under the back of her dress.

"_Dom_", she murmured warningly. "That's for later."

"You bought something new for me to peel off you?" he purred.

She waggled her eyebrows playfully, "Maybe."

"How much time we got?"

"Not that much time, Papa", she laughed. "Don't get handsy."

He groaned. "We don't have enough time for fun anymore."

She snorted. "Yes, well, the men who wear suits for pajamas have us on short leashes. And they still think you pulled me out of an alley somewhere and did me a favor."

He hummed thoughtfully. "That's not _quite_ right is it? It's been a while, but I seem to recall several instances where I took you into a few alleys and gave you several… _favors_."

Her eyes widened with her surprised laughter. "_Dominic!_"

Dom caught her hand gently. "I told you I would handle that", he said seriously. "And I'm fairly certain you politely told me to 'go fuck myself'."

"I was drunk that night", she shook her head. "But we're playing with the big dogs here. Mateo respects me because he can't make me angry. Emilio still tries. One day soon, though, he's gonna find the end of my fist, I promise you that. But not until everyone knows he deserves it."

"Yeah, well, you've got the bouncers scared of you, so that's an accomplishment", he grinned at her.

She turned his hand in hers, pressing her lips against his bruised knuckles. "Got a hard punch, Papa", she mused.

"Don't start something you know we don't have time to finish", he growled at her.

She groaned. "Hold that until I come back", Letty ordered seriously, waiting for him to cover the ice pack with his own hand before she stood from his lap. "I'll go get your suit. Then we'll finish getting you cleaned up."

He caught her wrist gently before she disappeared. "Thanks, baby."

She snorted, but leaned over to catch his mouth briefly with hers. "What would you do without me?"

He grinned. "Like you'd ever let me find out."

"Damn right, Toretto."

00

**A/N: Read the A/N above if you skipped it. Lol. Review. Let me know what you think… and if I should expand the series. This piece is complete. Other pieces will be posted on their own. Thanks guys!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Geez, here we go again. These are all going to probably have a pretty gritty feel to them in the way of tone… I'll make note of any warnings that might be necessary. **_**Okay, in the last three hours, I've changed the rating to M, and decided to keep my updates all in the same story for now. Took me the days I was writing this – plus a few hours – to think up a title. So, I'm gonna make use of it. Lol, enjoy the next chapter. It directly follows the previous one.**_

_**Chapter 2**_

It was quarter 'til 2 when they got back late that night after a long evening of schmoozing and making sure there were no ruffled feathers.

Letty had taken the pins out of her hair the minute she got into the passenger seat, dropping the pins disdainfully in her hand bag.

She unlocked the door and walked into the apartment laughing. A dog barking stopped her in her tracks. _They didn't have a dog._

She pushed her hair out of her face, to see the black German Shepherd in their foyer. "Hey, Jack. What are you doing here, huh?"

"Mia?" Dom called.

His sister appeared, coming up the hallway. "I'm here."

Letty smothered a grin at her outfit, knowing Dom's eye was probably twitching.

"Had a date tonight?" Letty asked curiously. Mia was decked out in mostly black – and definitely rocking a push-up bra. Her leather pants, and halter top that Letty vaguely recognized from their last shopping trip together that had sliver sequins around the low-cut neckline. Her only color besides the silver bangle bracelets and hoop earrings was a cropped, deep red, leather vest that was currently unbuckled and matched her pumps.

Jack trotted back to her, meeting her in the middle of the living room, and she crouched down to pet him.

Letty caught the unhappy look on the young woman's face at about the same time she noticed the ends of Mia's mid-back length hair were loosely curled.

Dominic apparently noticed the look as well, knowing it told a story far worse than a bad date. "What's going on, Mia?"

"Big Mike's dead", Mia said flatly, looking up.

"_Fuck_" Letty breathed. She looked at Dominic who was staring at his sister intently.

"How?" he asked finally.

"I wasn't there", Mia answered, shaking her head. "Ace called and told me he keeled over during a poker game. The ambulance came and got him. Ace said it looked like a heart attack."

Dom frowned grimly. "You two stay here. Don't call, or answer your phones unless it's me. Don't let anyone in here. I'll call on my way back up."

Mia made an irritated noise. "Where are you going?"

"To check on Lex", he said seriously. _Alexis Guerera was Big Mike's daughter… and Dom and Mia's step-sister._

"Dom-"

He shook his head, interrupting her protest. "Letty… I know you're not going to want to hear this- call your father."

"Are you out of your damn mind?"

"Tell him what we think happened, and let him know I'll be calling. He might want a few of his guys out here."

Letty made a face, but there would be time for arguing later. "Be careful", she said softly.

His mouth twitched slightly. "You too. Mia, you're staying here tonight."

His sister nodded. "We're in trouble aren't we?"

"Not sure yet", he said honestly, before disappearing into their bedroom for a few minutes before coming out carrying the case for their handgun and setting it on the glass coffee table. "If anyone tries to break in, Let…"

She nodded. "I got it."

"You think it wasn't a heart attack, don't you?" Mia asked seriously.

He shrugged. "I think I'm gonna go find out if he's still alive or not. But if anyone was planning to hurt his family, now would be the time to do it. Call if anything happens. I'll come back."

"You come back period", Letty said tersely.

He nodded, kissing the top of her head before pulling his sister into a hug. "Don't worry yet, alright?"

She sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, okay."

"Letty, come lock up."

She followed him, making sure he had his keys to get back in, and closed the door. Letty went to the wet bar and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Alcohol or coffee?" she asked Mia.

"I'm good with the Jack", she muttered. "It's been a long night."

Letty pulled out two tumblers and poured their drinks. "It's about to get longer", she muttered, downing half of hers and passing the other to Mia before picking up her cell phone to scroll through the contact list until she got to _SM_.

Her father wasn't on her speed dial list for more than one reason. There were even more reasons for her not to use his last name.

But her father hadn't let his princess move to Los Angeles without… _conditions_.

She hit the call button to dial the private line and mentally braced herself.

Salvatore Morales, _her father_, was not a man to be trifled with, and he expected his daughter to act with a certain amount discretion. Being involved in the Guerera family business would not equate _discretion_. No matter how much Dominic did to keep her out of it, she had certain obligations as his fiancé, and they both knew it.

When the other end picked up, the voice was terse and suspicious – and not her father.

"_Who is this?"_

Letty sighed, wishing briefly that her father would just get a damn phone with Caller I.D. in his office so she wouldn't have to go through these games every time she called. "It's Angel", she said calmly. "Put Sal on the phone."

0

Twenty minutes later, Letty walked back to the bar and took another shot of Jack.

"How's your father?" Mia asked quietly.

"Not happy", she shrugged. "But he'll wait for Dom to call with some real information. No more for me", Letty said wistfully eyeing the bottle of liquor. "I'm in charge of the firearm."

"You think anyone is coming here?"

She shrugged. "I really doubt it. But until we know what's going on, we gotta be careful." Letty gestured to the pool table to her left. "Wanna play a game?"

Mia nodded. "Water?" she questioned.

Letty nodded. "And grab my chocolate stash."

Mia grinned, heading to the fridge, pulling out two bottles of Evian, and then went to the drawer that hid Letty's expensive bars of dark chocolate. She grabbed an unopened one, and the last half of her own bar she had been working on during her last visit.

Letty had chalked up her pool stick, and had a lit cigarette dangling between two fingers, flicking a few charred flakes into the black ash tray.

Mia gave her a feigned reproving look as she passed over her spoils. "What happened to quitting?"

"I'm stressed. I'll split it with you", she shrugged holding out her cigarette.

"Give me that", Mia chuckled, reaching for it.

"Chalk up. Let's play."

00

It was nearly five a.m. by the time Dom got home. He shot Letty a text saying he way in the lobby before getting in the elevator – just in case either of them were still awake. He wasn't surprised to find most of the lights off though, and made his way down the hallway to the master bedroom where the television was on with no sound.

A tail thumping against the carpet brought his eyes to the dog bed in the corner. "Good dog", he muttered. A glance at the bed made him grin. Mia was curled on her side facing Letty who was sprawled on her back, taking up more than half her space… both of them asleep.

Mia had changed into a t-shirt and shorts that were both hers. _Half her closet was in their guest room._ And Letty had changed into a tank top and a pair of red boyshorts that Dom knew for certain hadn't been under her gold dress.

He went to the dresser and pulled out a tank top and pants to wear to bed, going to the bathroom to change. A few minutes later, Dom leaned over the bed, brushing the hair back from her face.

Letty woke up like she did almost every other morning, outstanding circumstances not registering just yet. His hand was warm on her stomach, even through the grey tank top she had 'borrowed' from his drawer, and his mouth was coaxing hers into a drawn-out, sleepy kiss. Her head tipped back and she felt his fingers in her hair, and she finally blinked her eyes open.

"Mmm- hey", she murmured. "What time is it?"

"About five", he answered quietly. "Sorry it took so long."

"It's okay. We went to bed around three-thirty."

"You know, the guest room is practically hers", he glanced at his sister with a bit of amusement.

"S'okay… I saved you some space", she smiled a bit and shifted over towards the middle.

He rolled his eyes but fitted himself in the space left next to her, and she turned on her side, giving them both more room and rested her head on his shoulder.

Mia shifted behind her. "What's with the Letty sandwich?" she asked roughly, voice tired from lack of sleep. She pressed her elbow against the mattress and rested her head on her hand. "What'd you find out, Dom?"

"He's not dead", Dom offered. "They have him in ICU, but he's been stabilized. I'm still not convinced it was a heart attack though."

"I'm gonna kill Ace… How's Alexis?" Mia asked grudgingly.

He gave a sigh of long-suffering that could only belong to an older brother. "She's sitting with him tonight. Kid's got her head on straight-"

"That's debatable", Mia muttered. _There was no love lost between her and her step-sister._

"We'll go up there in the afternoon after we get some sleep."

Letty sighed, cheek resting against his collarbone. "I hate to bring it up, but someone needs to call your mom in Chicago. They're still married Dominic. Theresa would want to be here."

"I will, after we all get some sleep", he muttered. "I'm not stepping in that minefield tonight."

Letty chuckled. "Mama Toretto coming back to town... everyone better look out."

"She's not exactly a Toretto anymore, Let."

"Your mother will always be a Toretto, Dom", she murmured. "Give her a little credit."

"She used to bake pie", Mia said sleepily.

"Only when there wasn't an engine to fix", Letty rolled her eyes, stretching her fingers out for her friend to twist with her own in a show of solidarity.

Mia squeezed her hand gently and pulled away, turning over in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Letty rubbed at the frown lines between Dom's eyebrows with her thumb. "You okay?" she murmured.

"Long day", he sighed.

"You know, tonight started off so well", Letty teased quietly, throwing her leg over his thigh, fingers trailing daintily over his chest. "You never did get to _see_ what was under my dress…"

His hand curled around her knee, squeezing lightly in warning. "Let-"

"Leticia Ortiz, do _not_ be trying to get my brother to bone you while we're all in the same bed!" Mia growled into her pillow.

Their low laughter mingled.

"Sorry, Mi. You know I'm shameless", Letty murmured, sounding a bit amused.

"You're _trouble_", Dom corrected affectionately.

"You love me for it", she grinned knowingly, letting her teeth scrap his chin gently.

"You know I do. Now go to sleep, you minx."

"Hey!"

00

**A/N: Second chapter! Whoo-hoo! Okay, something you should know… I really love kick-ass Mia. It makes me so happy. So there will be plenty of that! And she would have to be full of awesomeness to deal with Dom and Letty. FYI, guest reviewers, if you come out of hiding, I write back. :P**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter 3**_

Sometime during the night, Mia had crawled under the comforter, and Letty had grabbed the soft brown throw blanket from the end of the bed and tossed it haphazardly across her and Dom.

Dominic woke up around nine and took Mia's dog outside and poured food in one of the bowls on the floor near the kitchen cabinets, and then stepped out onto the balcony off the living room to take up the task of calling their mother who had taken a few weeks away in Chicago. Theresa had needed it, and he didn't relish the idea of calling her back into their current mess – especially when he didn't have any solid information.

_Then again… maybe they were all overreacting…_

Dom finished his call, and glanced at the clock in the kitchen.

_8:43._

He went back to bed, crawling under the blanket, an amused smile crossing his face as Letty curled herself around him again as he drifted to sleep.

Several hours later, he woke again to Letty shifting slowly against him. _Or more specifically, she was using his thigh to grind against._

He peered down at her with a fond sort of amusement at the fact that she was using him like a personal scratching post. And Dom knew all the places his fiancé enjoyed being… _scratched_. _Per se._

"Miss me, baby?" he growled in her ear, hiking her leg higher up on his hip, her calf brushing against his erection.

"It's been like two _days_", she whined, rocking against him insistently. "That's like a _year_ for us."

Dom chuckled, mouth brushing against hers. "Okay, I'll give you that."

"_Dom_", she gasped softly as his teeth pulled gently at her bottom lip. "Need you."

He slipped his hand down the front of her panties, cupping her. "Damn, baby." Her forehead rested against his collarbone, panting against his skin as he dipped a finger into her wet heat. "Think we'll ever get over this?" he asked quietly in her ear.

"It's been… seven years since we got together", she murmured. "Hasn't been a day yet that you don't set me on fire. I really doubt it."

He grinned. "Good."

_In a society where most marriages were founded on lies and half-truths, Dom and Letty had agreed long ago that it wouldn't pay to keep secrets, even if it made them vulnerable to each other. And they had had years to build trust and a safety net between them._

_And honestly, a few shared truths between them had led to more than a few amazing nights between the sheets._

"Want you", she insisted, "inside me. _Now_."

Dom looked ruefully over at his sleeping sister… _the only reason Letty wasn't doubled over underneath him, screaming into a pillow already._ "Let's go take a shower."

Letty grinned and let him pull her out of bed.

They peeled each others' clothes off while the water heated, and Letty crooked her finger, gesturing him to follow as she stepped into the shower.

He pressed her back against the tiled was, hands tangled in her wet hair as their mouths met roughly.

"Two fucking days, Dom", she muttered roughly.

He picked her up and her legs wrapped around his hips. "Too long", he agreed. _They both released a healthy dose of aggression through sex, and when they couldn't… it sometimes got heated outside the bedroom._

She let out a low moan as he sunk into her. "Mmm- _goddamn _."

"Yeah, there ya go, baby", he chuckled.

"Really wanna waste time chatting me up, Dom?" she asked, rolling her hips against his enticingly.

"How 'bout you? You wanna fuck or fight here?" he growled, snapping his hips into hers roughly.

"Shut _up_ already", she hissed, scratching lightly at his shoulders.

"You're pushing it", he warned.

Letty just dropped her head back against the wall and let out a husky laugh. "You're not pushing hard enough-_ ahh, shit!_"

His thrusts were forceful enough to pull a muffled scream from her throat, and the only thing she could do was hold on for the ride.

They had both been on the edge for awhile, and knew this round wasn't about longevity, just getting off.

And it wasn't hard for Dominic to put her through two consecutive orgasms before he released inside her.

His weight on her against the wall kept them both upright until their legs could hold them properly again.

They hurried through the rest of their shower, but Dom recognized the signs of a good lay as the tense muscles in his shoulders relaxed. And he knew Letty would be as happy and complacent as a puppy for a good part of the day.

If they had the day to spend alone, their relaxed demeanors would be even more apparent, but as they got out of the shower and Dom wrapped a towel around his waist and proceeded to dry her off – something she swatted at him for half the time, not liking to be babied – he knew they were settled enough to handle whatever challenge the day might bring.

0

Mia was towel drying her own hair in the kitchen while turning on the coffee machine, having taken a shower in the other bathroom. She looked up when Dom and Letty finally emerged.

"You know, waking up to the two of you having shower sex isn't my idea of a pleasant alarm clock", she said mildly.

Dom just shrugged. "You fell asleep in our bed. Sounds like your own fault."

Mia crossed her eyes at him. "You were up earlier, weren't you?" she asked her brother.

He nodded towards Jack who was sitting on the rug in the middle of the kitchen. "Your child was whining."

"Yeah, thanks. I usually wake up."

"I called Mom", he said after a minute, pulling out three mugs for coffee as Letty poked around in the fridge for creamer. "Her flight gets in around five. One of us will have to go pick her up."

Letty turned around. "I can do it. Mia, you can follow us to the hospital, and Dom can ride back with you once you're done up there."

"Let, you sure?" Dom asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Yup. Now is someone cooking, or are we stopping to grab breakfast? 'Cause I'm starving."

"You wanna go to _Jacks N Joe_ for breakfast?" Mia suggested.

Letty raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Can you be ready in twenty minutes? I'm not kidding about being ready to gnaw on my own arm here."

Mia smirked, pouring coffee into her mug, stirring in the creamer quickly. "Fifteen minutes if one of you take Jack out again."

"Done", Letty declared.

"Thanks!" Mia grinned, hurrying to her room with her hot beverage to finish making herself look presentable.

Dom eyed Letty and Jack with a bit of annoyance, and plucked a quarter out of the change jar. "I'll flip you for it."

Her mouth twitched as she poured coffee into both of their cups and added cream to hers, "'Kay. Heads", she shrugged.

He tossed it and caught it, flipping it onto the back of his hand. _Heads._ "Dammit", he grumbled.

"Ha! Now that's democracy for you", she teased, sipping at her coffee.

"She doesn't even live here", Dom said incredulously, gulping down half of his coffee.

Letty snorted with amusement. "Hate to break it to you, papi, but she kinda does."

"Then I'm about to charge her rent", he muttered, not meaning it. "Jack, outside", he called, grabbing the leash from the counter.

Letty leaned against the counter, smiling lazily into her mug as the door closed behind them. She finished her coffee and went back to the bedroom to grab her small purse that held her keys, cell phone, and wallet. She grabbed Dom's wallet off the dresser, shoving it into the pocket of her hoodie and went back to the closet for her tennis shoes.

"Hurry up, Mia!" she called warningly.

The other bedroom door opened. "Almost done. Letty, where's my phone?"

Letty frowned thoughtfully. "On the pool table", she answered after a minute, spotting the device.

Mia nodded, pulling her black windbreaker on, leaving it unzipped, and stuck her phone in her purse. "Okay, I'm good to go. Where's Dom?"

"Outside." Letty smirked. "He lost the coin toss."

Mia couldn't help but laugh.

00

Letty left the hospital that afternoon to pick up Theresa from the airport, exceedingly glad that she didn't have to dress up to impress her future mother-in-law.

Her grey zip-up hoodie only half-covered her dark blue t-shirt that said 'I'll Give You Something to Cry About'. And her comfortable jeans rested low on her hips and were a bit frayed at the bottom. Letty had only pinned her bangs back and threw her hair into a ponytail after her shower that morning, forgoing her make-up, only bothering to cover the circles under her eyes, which she was now hiding behind large black sunglasses.

She wouldn't win any beauty contests today, no matter how spectacularly Dom had tried to lie to her about it. Her mouth twitched slightly.

Letty found the correct lane and parked her car, leaving the engine running as she saw Theresa through the large glass window. She popped the latch for the trunk and got out of the car.

She was having the life squeezed out of her minutes later. "Theresa", she chuckled in protest, feigning choking sounds. "You've only been gone a few weeks."

"Letty, mi querida", she pulled back with a sharp grin. "Don't be a smartass. It's good to be home."  
Theresa Guerera was an older, slightly curvier, version of Mia. And her hair would also be rod straight if not for a large round brush and a blow dryer.

Letty smirked and helped the woman get both her suitcases into the trunk. "I thought you'd be shopping in Chicago."

"I did. It's being shipped."

"Plane couldn't hold it all?" Letty teased as they got into the car.

"Keep it up, mija, and you won't see your present until Christmas."

Letty grinned as they got back on the highway. "Do you mind stopping at the store with me? I have to grab something to make for dinner."

"Only if you let me help cook. You look exhausted."

"It's been a long two days", she admitted.

Theresa nodded. "Catch me up."

0

Two hours later, they were back at Dom and Letty's penthouse apartment working in the kitchen.  
Letty was chopping up onions and tomatoes while Theresa cooked two pounds of cut up chicken in the skillet to make tostadas, letting the rice sit on the back burner.

"Dom and Mia should be back by the time dinner's done", Letty offered as she read the text message that had sent her phone buzzing across the counter.

Theresa nodded, eyeing her thoughtfully. "Do you think I'm a bad mother?"

Letty narrowly missed a trip to the hospital as she avoided cutting her finger. "What? Theresa, I don't think that's my-"

The older woman shook her head. "Don't bother saying it's not your place. You've been part of our family since you were eight years old and walked straight into my house demanding why I didn't teach my son any manners", she chuckled.

"And Dom walked in right behind me with mud on his face", Letty snorted. "I'd almost forgotten about that. That's what he got for tellin' me I probably hit like a priss."

"You've always been a little spitfire", Theresa grinned. "It's why I knew you would eventually be perfect for Dom. So, I'm asking you to be blunt, because that's who you are. Just answer the question."

Letty gnawed on her bottom lip, finishing with her last onion and dumping it in the pan with the chicken, considering the question and its context. "No. I've never thought you were a bad mother", she answered quietly. "And Dom and Mia don't either. They wish some things were different... But they don't hate you, and I know they wouldn't want you to think that. It's been over ten years, and we still miss Tony", she said softly. "I know you do too, because I remember how much the two of you loved each other. I think they want you to show it more often. The choices you've made- I know you did what you thought you had to do at the time. None of us resent you for wanting to be happy. And to my knowledge, Mike has never made your kids feel like anything other than part of the family. Things could be a lot worse, Theresa."

"Thanks for the reality check", she smiled wryly.

"Mia misses you", Letty offered. "And I think she wants you to make pie."

Theresa chuckled, "And Dominic? Is my son being good to you?"

"You know he is", she said softly.

"I'm going to assume the two of you still go at it like rabbits- you _are_ taking birth control, aren't you?"

Letty scrunched her nose. "Of course I'm on the pill. We don't have time for babies right now! And I just said- you have this talk with Mia, alright? I'm not the one in need of mothering", she turned back to the stove to bury the awkwardness.

She got turned back around for her trouble, a hand in either side of her face, and a kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah, mija, you are", Theresa murmured. "So be a good girl and indulge me."

Letty sighed and nodded. "At least you don't rearrange my kitchen when you visit", she groused half-heartedly.

Theresa smirked slightly. "Go set the table while I finish up."

It wasn't even ten minutes later when Dom and Mia came through the door.

"Mama T is in the house!" Letty called, yelping when she gets swatted with a potholder.

Dominic gave Theresa a quick hug and stepped out of his sister's way to get to Letty. "I trust the two of you are behaving?" he said wryly.

He got an exasperated look from his mother over Mia's shoulder.

Letty's mouth twitched. "You're mother is in rare form tonight, Toretto. She called me a pain in the ass before we even got her suitcases in my trunk. And since we've been cooking, she's mentioned our sex life, and asked about birth control and if we plan on giving her grandchildren."

He just laughed, "So, the usual, yeah?"

She nodded with a grin, "Pretty much."

"Better you than me, babe." He kissed the side of her mouth. "Food smells good. I'm starving."

0

After dinner was cleaned up, Theresa sat down in the living room with her kids. _She had claimed Letty as one of hers for years._ Mia sat on one of the black leather couches with her, closest to Letty, and Jack taking a spot on the floor near Dominic where he could eye the door.

Letty was stretched out across the couch, half in Dom's lap on the other couch, but she had her foot rest up, Mia's legs stretched out to tangle with hers comfortably.

"So, Letty, I know you hate... _everything_", Theresa teased mildly. "But are the two of you making any wedding plans?"

Letty groaned. "Dom, I love your ma, but make it stop."

He chuckled, running a hand over the top of her head. "She and Mia were planning on starting to look for dresses next week I think."

"I was kind of thinking you might want to come..." Letty muttered.

Theresa very carefully didn't laugh or make any kind of big deal over the grouchy offer. She just nodded. "Just let me know when."

"Thanks."

"Anything else?" Theresa questioned. _They'd been engaged for nearly a year now, and hadn't even set a date._

"We picked our wedding song", Letty grumbled.

Dom laughed at her. "Don't sound so excited."

She tilted her head up, glaring half-heartedly. "What do you know? All you have to do is show up and say 'I do'."

"Honey, you realize once you pick a date, we can help with all the details, right?" Theresa said carefully.

Mia just gnawed on her bottom lip. She wanted no part of Letty blowing up.

Letty stared at the wall like it had done something to severely piss her off. Finally she looked back at Dom. "When you wanna get married?" she growled.

His head dipped, looking at her curiously, considering the challenge in her tone. "Sometime in the middle of June? That gives you... eight and a half months."

Letty scowled and pulled out her phone to check the calendar, and then held it up for him to see. "Sixteenth or seventeenth", she muttered. "Have to see when the church is open."

"I'll make some calls this week and get back to you, Letty, alright?" Theresa said calmly.

Letty just sighed. "Kay."

Dom nuzzled the side of her neck. "Ready for bed, baby?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm wiped." He nodded and she shifted off of him so they could stand up. "Night guys."

"We'll see you in the morning", Dom said.

Mia had already offered to share the guest room, which kind of amused him since she _really_ didn't actually live here. But Letty was right. It was pretty much hers anyway.

He waited until the door was closed, leaning against it, watching in amusement as Letty face-planted on the bed. "You mad?" he wondered.

She turned her head and frowned curiously. "No... Why would I be angry? You know I want to marry you. I just don't want to deal with all of the wedding crap", Letty muttered.

He nodded. "Yeah", he smirked, a bit amused. "I'm just making sure you're not pulling a fast one on me."

She snorted. "Funny."

"So, you wanna get married, huh?"

She shrugged. "Sure why not. I kinda like you. Let's do it."

He crossed the room and flipped her over on the bed. "'Kinda'", he repeated.

She laughed and got up on her knees, balancing on the mattress. "Love you", she murmured against his mouth.

"Better", he growled, a hand in her hair tilting her head back so he could suck her neck.

Less than a minute later he found himself on his back on the bed with her straddling his thighs. She unzipped his jeans and pulled his hardening length from his boxers, hand curling around it.

"Let-" he gave her a half-assed warning. _Anytime she eyed his crotch that predatorily, his brain was about to get shot straight out his dick._

Her wicked smirk seemed to agree with his thoughts before she swallowed him down her throat.

00

**A/N: Yay! Chapter three! You** **didn't think Letty would be mushy about her wedding, did you?!** **Family moments and smut! - And that right there is why I don't name my chapters… I hope you guys are still enjoying this! Thanks for the reviews so far! You're awesome!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter 4**_

_Flashback:_

_She hadn't liked him the first day they'd met. He'd been eleven, she was eight years old, and had a cocky mouth on her even back then. So had he. She'd thought he was a 'know-it-all jerk' – in her child-like mind._

_She'd say now that he still could be sometimes. He enjoyed getting one over on her – as often as possible. Throwing her for a loop seemed to be on par with driving fast for him._

_But that wasn't all that he was._

_And it had taken her awhile to discover that, just like she did, he had parts of himself he wouldn't share with people who didn't matter to him._

_He was an older brother who let his sister take half his bed in the middle of the night when she was scared, sad, or just feeling alone._

_He was a good friend to the people closest to him. Loyalty was one of the most important things to him - because that was what Tony had taught him._

_And almost three years ago, when Tony had died, Letty had just seen the boy who had wanted his father back._

_Letty's relationship with Dom was always changing. He was her protector, occasional tormentor, friend, fellow speed junkie… and currently her partner in crime and get-away driver._

_Despite the years between them that made sixteen and nineteen so far apart, they usual rode the same wavelength when it came to things that were important. They understood each other. And no matter what was between them, they had each other's backs._

_They could talk about anything and everything. There were very few boundaries between them, and the ones that were there were treaded on carefully only when necessary._

_It still left a lot of topics up for grabs._

_When she was mad at him, his first question was almost always to ask if she was 'on the rag'._

_The answer was a toss-up._

_Sometimes she just glared at him, answering, "No, I'm not! You're just a dick!"_

_Other times she would tell him to go find her chocolate and leave her alone… Their last conversation over it had led to her telling all her symptoms in crude detail, telling him __**exactly**__ what was wrong with her._

"…_because I have cramps, I feel __**fat**__, my head hurts, and I want chocolate, but I also feel like throwing up! So __**excuse me**__ if I don't feel very pleasant today. You wouldn't be very chipper either if blood was shooting out your dick!"_

_He blinked, looking momentarily shell-shocked at her tirade. "You want a hug?" he offered, a bit helplessly._

_Then she burst into tears._

_And Dom promised himself he wouldn't pester her anymore when she was already irritable._

_Their relationship was never the same, and it made for some interesting stories over the years. And this one… would be one for the books… if they could ever tell anyone._

"_V is gonna be pissed he missed this", Letty mused as Dom drove her towards where she had left the car she'd won in a race the past weekend._

_She'd won fair and square, but there had been a newbie on the scene that hadn't taken his loss very well. He also hadn't started very well, if Letty was so inclined to give her opinion. She had taken his car with a bit of devilish satisfaction. The car was a piece of shit – like its sleazy owner. So much so, she didn't even have use for any of the parts._

_Her grin had gotten her a crazy look from Dom, who had, at the time, unhelpfully pointed out that she now owned a junker._

_Letty had also muttered that it seemed she also owned the idiot's balls, because he wouldn't go whining to anyone about being beaten by a chick._

_Hector had done her a favor, finding out where the guy was staying, and that he would be in town for at least a week… and she had plotted._

_The guy needed to be taken down a peg or two, and she was just the girl to teach him a lesson._

_Dom nodded in agreement. "He would. But you know he got caught last weekend. His mama is watching him like a hawk."_

_Letty snickered._

_Dom pulled up to an alley where she had parked the shitty Toyota, eyeing the rusted heap with disdain. "Why did that guy think he even stood a chance?"_

_She shrugged, getting out of his car. "Beats the hell outta me, man. I've only been in it once, and I can't __**wait**__ to get rid of it!"_

_He grinned. "Pull out in front of me, alright? Just in case that thing rattles to pieces."_

"_Ha-fuckin'-ha", she said dryly, but she nodded anyway. Dom wouldn't run her over at least if her ass found its way to the cement._

_0_

_They were a block over from their usual meeting place for the races. It was just as deserted, but it would be found within the week, unless someone caught the smell of smoke or saw fire or an explosion. She pulled 'her' car back far enough not to be seen from the opening, and Dom got out of his own car just long enough to hand her a container of gasoline._

"_You sure?" he mused._

"_Mhm." She unscrewed the lid on the nozzle slowly._

"_Want help?" Dom raised a curious eyebrow._

_She grinned. "Nah, man. I gotta do this one."_

"_Start front to back, and leave a trial on the ground long enough to give you time to get away before it gets to the car."_

_She waved her small pocket book of matches at him pointedly. "Um, hi. I'm Letty and I like fire."_

_He smirked. "Then get to it, Lady Arsonist. I'm gonna move my car up."_

_He pulled his car up, eyeing her in the mirror as she finished her task. He watched her pour a thin, but long trail on the ground, about halfway to his car. She capped the gas can, ready to set it back in his still-open trunk before they took off._

_Letty struck her match, watching the flame for a split second before dropping it, and hot-footing it back to his car._

_Flames licked up the trail she'd left and set the car ablaze as she settled into his passenger seat once more._

_Dom paused, hand on the stick shift, to glance out the side mirror as the car went up in flames. "Shit, Let. Remind me not to piss you off."_

_She smirked, elbow resting on the window, head against her hand as she glanced at him. "You piss me off like… every other __**day**__, Dominic. __**He**__ was a sore loser, and he disrespected me. Tryin' to convince me I wanted a ride on his tiny dick instead of taking his shitty car- __**pendejo**__."_

"_He said what to you?!"_

_Letty laughed. "Man, didn't I just __**handle it**__?" she gestured behind them as he pulled away from the warehouse district and into traffic. "Like I'd give it up to him", she muttered under her breath. "He'll be cryin' over his car tomorrow."_

_He glanced at her curiously. "So, you haven't- ah… you know?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Okay, look, I know you were like, impregnating your seventh grade teacher or whatever, but some of us actually want to mean something to the person we have sex with."_

"_My seventh grade teacher was Mrs. Hamilton", he said with a grimace. "And she was sixty-five – ten __**years**__ ago. I really hope that was never a rumor."_

"_It could be", she sing-songed._

"_**Letty**__", he growled warningly._

"_Easy, man. I'm just playin'", she chuckled._

"_Better be." They were silent for a few minutes, Dom just driving, before words fell out of his mouth. "You know- sex doesn't have to mean something all the time. It can just be about getting off."_

_She shot him a look. "Yeah, but I still choose who, where, and when. And it'll never be with some punk-ass wannabe racer. If he can't handle his car, he sure as hell can't handle me. Besides", Letty finished nonchalantly, "if I just want to get off, I'm more than capable of handling that myself."_

_Dom's brain stopped. Only thoughts of Letty doing… __**that**__… flashed through his head. He came back to the present just before running a red light._

_He slammed on the breaks, and distantly registered the sounds of her laughter. "Oh, god- Dom, you are such a perv."_

"_Me?" he demanded. "Who's sitting there talking about masturbating while I'm fucking __**driving**__?"_

"_Stop thinking about it!" she punched his shoulder twice. "Light's about to turn", she grumbled. "Try not to kill us."_

_He snorted. "You got anything else you need to blow up tonight, or are we going home?"_

_Her head tilted, considering. "How fast can you get across town? I could go for some Chinese food."_

"_Fine. But you're paying, Fireball", he mused._

"_Deal. Make a U-turn at the next light."_

_0_

_They got their take-out and drove to the beach, getting out and sitting on the hood of Dom's car to eat._

"_So… tonight happened", Letty smirked slightly. "Thanks for being my partner in crime", she nudged his shoulder with her own._

_He chuckled, "Yeah, no problem."_

"_Think anyone would believe it?"_

_Dom shrugged. "They will when someone finally finds it. Hell, __**I**__ can barely believe it. You blew up a damn car, girl."_

_She laughed. "Yeah, I did."_

"_You'll warn me before I stick my foot in it that bad with you, right?" he asked warily._

_She flashed a grin. "I guess. It would be a shame to torch your car when I like driving it."_

"_That's very reassuring", he said finally, looking skeptical._

"_You know I wouldn't", she said quietly, staring out towards the surf. __**Dom had built that car with his father. Even if he did infuriate her sometimes, she wouldn't touch it.**_

"_Yeah, I know." He slapped her thigh. "Finish up. It's late."_

"_What're the chances your Mom is still sleeping?"_

_He laughed under his breath. "Not good."_

_0_

_The kitchen light was on when they came home, and they both winced._

_**So much trouble…**_

"_It's two in the morning. Do I __**want**__ to know what the two of you have been up to?" Theresa asked with raised eyebrows._

_The kept their mouths closed rather than lie… or omit._

"_Thick as thieves", Theresa sighed, shaking her head._

_Letty snorted. "I dunno about that. But Dom's got a thick head."_

"_Hey, now", he frowned at her._

"_What? You gonna get offended?" she teased._

"_Maybe."_

_Her eyebrow arched. "Suck it up, Toretto."_

_Theresa rolled her eyes at their banter. "Bed", she repeated, gesturing to the stairs._

_The duo kind of laughed._

"_Night, Theresa", Letty grinned before running upstairs to avoid further interrogation._

"_Dom."_

_He sighed. "What's up, ma?"_

"_You're both grounded for the next month", she said calmly, like he wasn't nineteen and legally an adult._

"_Got it." __**Her roof, her rules… Dominic did not mess with that.**_

"_Was it worth it?"_

_He smiled slightly, "Kinda, yeah." Procuring new information about Letty notwithstanding, Dom realized that watching her walk toward him with flames igniting behind her was sexy as fuck. And that, __**that**__, was a new feeling._

"_Ass to bed", she shook her head, shooing him upstairs. "What am I going to do with you kids?"_

_00_

_Three weeks later she and Dominic were in his living room watching television, both still grounded. She had confiscated the comfy recliner, leaving him to the couch slightly behind her. Theresa was working late, and Mia was working on a school project up in her bedroom._

_Letty was just glad her father was still in New York. If he came home before she'd finished her punishment she would be more than grounded until she was forty._

"_There's a fat lot of nothing on to watch", she muttered._

_He grunted at her, something that was supposed to be some kind of an agreement._

_Letty rolled her eyes. __**Not like he would notice. He'd been watching her more than the TV.**_

"_Would you __**stop**__ that?" he ground out finally._

_She frowned. "What's your problem?"_

"_You're- __**seriously?**__"_

"_Thanks, Dom. That was enlightening", she drawled._

_He folded his arms across his chest, mimicking her; legs stretched out and stared at her._

_She sighed. __**He was exhausting sometimes… Did guys get PMS too, or something? 'Cause Dominic Toretto could be hell'a moody. Especially when he was mocking her… and staring at her… chest?**_

_Her eyebrows furrowed, and she wondered why he was looking at her like that before glancing down at herself a bit curiously. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a tan colored, scoop neck tank top, and the straps of her black bra that wouldn't stay hidden. Nothing special, but-_

"_Huh", she muttered under her breath. "Well, that's new." Dom's rough laugh startled her, and she glanced over at him with an arched eyebrow. "You got something to say?"_

"_You look surprised", he chuckled._

"_I'm not- I knew they were there", she argued, smothering the silly, girlish smile. "I just didn't know my boobs were big enough to have cleavage."_

_Dom laughed outright, correctly reading the small amount of pride on her face. "Let, you're something else."_

_She picked up a pillow and chucked it at him. "You coulda __**told**__ me, 'hey, Letty, put the tits away; you're giving me a hard on'", she scowled at him, shifting in her chair slightly. __**'Cause yeah, her turning Dom on… was awkward.**_

"_And let you give me a black eye? I'd rather smash my face on a door. Besides, how was I supposed to know you weren't aware they were there?" he smirked._

"_You thought I was __**teasing**__ you?" she asked, mouth gaping open, "Seriously?"_

_He raised his hands innocently. "Hey, don't look at me like that. How am I supposed to know how you trap your boyfriends?"_

'_**What'**__, she thought, '__**all two of them?'**_

"_Oh my god", she muttered to herself, hands coming up to rub her forehead. "__**This**__", Letty gestured between them, "__**weirdest**__ conversation ever." She got up and headed into the kitchen. "I'm making popcorn. Find a movie that doesn't suck. I'm sick of crap TV."_

"'_Indiana Jones'?" he called over the popping in the microwave a few minutes later._

"_If you found 'Temple of Doom', then yeah", she answered._

"_Got it! Hurry up with the popcorn!"_

"_Yeah, sure, I'll just make the microwave go __**faster**__", she said sarcastically, pulling an extra large bowl from the pantry and dumping both bags into it._

_She grabbed two bottles of soda and her bowl and went back to the living room._

_Letty tossed one of the bottles to Dom, and he caught it._

_And then she curled up in her chair with the bowl in her lap, and her soda in one hand._

"_**Letty**__", he complained._

_She looked up innocently. "What? I said I was gonna make popcorn. Not that I was giving you any."_

_He gave her an irritated stare, knowing full-well she had never been intimidated by him._

_She scoffed. "Not happening."_

_He sighed. "Alright, come on. I'll play nice."_

_She stared with narrowed eyes and finally got up and went to sit on the couch as the long-winded music at the beginning of the movie started._

"_You're usually more stubborn", he commented mildly._

"_Just makin' a point", she smirked. "If I'm gonna tease you, I'll do it with food – __**not**__ my boobs."_

"_What about food __**and**__ your boobs?" he teased._

_She tossed a handful of popcorn at his face._

"_Nice, Let", he grinned. "I like my women feisty."_

"_Liar", she rolled her eyes. "You like your women drunk and easy with a big rack."_

"_Hey, I have some respect for variety."_

_Letty laughed incredulously. "There is something __**so**__ wrong with you."_

_He leaned back against the couch comfortably, shoulder bumping hers as he stuck his hand in the bowl. "Shh, watch the movie."_

00

**A/N: Well, this was the beginning of them starting to get together: Letty's boobs and an exploding car. Works for me! Next chapter will be back to our regularly scheduled program! Once I iron out the details of them actually getting together, I'll have a chapter or section for that too. Let me know what you think. Thanks for the review so far, guys! (My editing was crappy for this chapter because I'm tired. I might fix stuff tomorrow.)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter 5**_

The alarm didn't wake him up that morning. Dom woke up to find Letty straddling his legs, a hand wrapped around his hard-on as she licked at the head.

He groaned and she took him partway into her mouth. "Let-"

"Shh", she murmured. "I got this."

He let out a strangled laugh. "Can't argue with your train of thought, babe, but-"

"You really gonna talk the entire time I'm sucking you off?" she asked, sounding a bit amused.

"Let, come on- my mom is in our kitchen."

Her mouth twitched. "So?"

"You want her walking in here while my dick is in your mouth?"

"Dom, she's not just gonna walk in here. She knows we go at it like horny rabbits."

"Oh, yeah?" he countered. "You remember when she walked in on us at the other house when you were nineteen? She stood there and mentioned how uncomfortable it must have been for you to be twisted like that before walking out and leaving the door open."

"Huh. Is that what she said?" Letty grinned. "Didn't hear none if that."

Dom raised an eyebrow.

She chuckled. "Man, you held me off so long; when I came... my ears were still ringing when she walked in."

He laughed outright.

"Besides", she shrugged, "it's kinda like having a cheering section."

"And you think it should be my mother?" he asked dryly.

"Nope", she shook her head. "That's why when you were still asleep, I went and told her we'd be late to breakfast, and locked the door when I came back."

He growled. "Letty, you're in trouble."

She yelped in surprise as he sat up and rolled her underneath him on the bed. "Trouble, huh?" she smirked up at him. "I sure hope so."

"Count on it."

00

Two hours later, the four of them were at the hospital. Dom went to go have the doctor paged while his mother leaned against the nurses' station.

"Mia, go find Alexis", Theresa said calmly. "Let her know I'm here."

Mia sighed. "Fine", she muttered reluctantly. "Come on, Let."

"Uh, no", Theresa protested, holding onto Letty's arm gently. "Letty's going to stay right here. Go _talk_ to her, Mia."

"Mom, we were all up here yesterday-"

"_Go_", Theresa ordered, shooing her with laugh. "Play nice, mija."

Mia groaned, softly cursing in Spanish as she headed down the hallway.

"I heard that!"

Letty chuckled. "You think that was a good idea?"

"Mhm", Theresa nodded easily. "At least if it comes to blows, we're already in a hospital. Have I ever thanked you and Dominic _properly_ for teaching my daughter to fight?" she asked wryly.

Letty refused to apologize for that. "We both wanted her to be able to protect herself. We may not have lived in the worst neighborhoods, but Dom and I knew if she was anything like us, she would end up in the middle of something eventually."

Theresa sighed. "You kids give me grey hair."

0

Mia leaned in the doorway of the private room, watching the scene in silence for a brief moment. Alexis was sitting in a chair near the bed with her back to the door, and Mike appeared to be sleeping.

The two girls had never gotten along, always feeling like the other was intruding on their turf, but Mia knew that hospitals were no place to hold grudges.

Mia cleared her throat softly, getting her step-sister's attention. "How's he doing?" she asked softly.

Alexis gave her a quick glance and looked away. "He woke up for a few minutes around three this morning. The doctors are keeping him lightly sedated for now, but said he should be awake and coherent by tomorrow."

"That's good. I'm glad." She edged into the room, finally stopping near the end of the bed.

Alexis said nothing, looking pensive.

Alexis Guerera was the same age as Mia – both twenty-one. Her hair was mid-length and dark brown, and she had dark eyes, and an almost permanent pout on her mouth that Mia might have found cute if they weren't always ready to tear each other's hair out.

The girl looked exhausted. Her makeup was nearly non-existent, and she was actually wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. Instead of looking like her usual stylish self, she looked a bit like Mia after a week of finals.

"Our mom flew back last night. She's with Dom and Letty talking to his doctor", Mia said carefully.

"I didn't like her when they got married", Alexis offered after a minute.

"That was more than obvious", Mia said flatly.

"I was mad at him", she continued. "Like- really angry. He couldn't make keep my mom happy, and he thought he should just go pick himself up a new family that he liked better."

"I thought he was dead", Mia muttered tensely.

Alexis whipped her head up alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

"That- that was the call I got… after the ambulance took him here, someone called me and said they thought he was dead."

"Who the _hell_-?"

"It doesn't matter", Mia shook her head. "I'm going to go take care of it. But- _Lex_, Dom and I _lost_ our father. I know exactly what that kind of pain feels like. I wouldn't have wished it on you. And for my mother to have to go through that again-" she shook herself off abruptly. "By the time I got to my brother's apartment, I had it pulled together more or less, but I still had that horrible sick feeling in my stomach."

"I'm sorry."

Mia sighed. _She didn't want a damn apology._ "Does your mom know you're here?" she asked finally.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "No way would she show up here to see him unless it was to finish him off herself."

"I'm not suggesting she come here to see him", Mia's eyes widened slightly. "She should be here for _you_. Whether he treated her the way he should have or not… he's your father. And being here can't be easy for you. If Gina can't get past that and be here to support you… I'm sorry. Look, I know you and I have never clicked, but we're family now", she said with a bit of finality. "I'm not saying we'll ever be best friends, but the most important thing my dad taught me, was that family takes care of each other. You don't have to deal with this by yourself."

"You miss him?"

Mia smiled sadly, "Every day."

00

Theresa had shooed her kids to go to the cafeteria so she could have some time alone with her husband.

Letty stepped into the elevator with Mia and rode down to the first floor. They found a coffee kiosk, got their drinks and a both got some kind of pastry before going to sit down.

"So... Now that you guys have a date, that means I can start planning the bachelorette party, right?" Mia asked, eyes twinkling.

Letty balked. "It had better not take you eight months to plan a bachelorette party! Nothing over the top, Mi. I'm serious."

She sighed dramatically. "Letty-"

Letty scowled at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "No boats, no horses, and no roller skates", she said sternly.

Mia choked on a laugh. "Roller skates, Let?"

"They have it out for me… stupid roll-y fuckers. And plan it the weekend before the wedding. I'm not getting married hung-over and covered in glitter."

"Have to admit though, Let. You drunk on tequila... _on wheels_", she laughed, "would be hilarious. Dom would murder me though. Unless I got a good video..."

"_Mia-_"

"I'm just messing with you. It's a deal", Mia laughed. They shook hands. "You never did say what your wedding song was..."

"You can't make me go girly for this", Letty smirked.

"I can damn well try", the younger woman grumbled.

"Hey, I taught you how to put on eyeliner without looking like a skanky raccoon. Cut me some slack."

"Wedding song, Let", Mia prompted with a grin.

Letty snorted. "Let's just say my first choice was from _Insane Clown Posse_. Dom vetoed that."

Mia groaned, "Oh, good lord. Now I'm scared."

She smirked. "Don't worry, Mia. It's a sufficiently mushy song."

"Let, you're killing me", Mia groaned.

Letty rolled her eyes. "It's '_You Give Me Something_' by James Morrison."

Mia blinked, pleasantly surprised. "Huh. That's kind of perfect", she murmured.

"Hey, I can do girly… I just prefer to keep it private", she said evenly.

"_Really_", Mia drawled teasingly.

Letty eyed her with a bit of amusement. "Yep, and you'll never see it unless we have a _highly_ illicit affair."

Mia chuckled. "My brother is one lucky guy", she offered finally.

"You know, I think so too", Letty teased. "So, what's the deal? Are you and Alexis _besties_ now?"

Mia laughed. "Yeah, right. You know, you shoulda been a comedian."

"_Mia_", she sing-songed playfully.

She rolled her eyes at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "I dunno… maybe we understand each other a little bit better than we thought is all."

"That's better than nothing, chica. Anyway, pull up your bootstraps. Looks like she and Dom finally made it down here."

Letty gestured to Dom, and he nodded, letting her know they'd be over after grabbing their own coffee.

"So, what are you two talking about?" Dom asked once they were seated, sounding a bit amused.

Letty groaned and leaned over to rest her forehead against his shoulder. "Mia's already mentally planning my bachelorette party."

"No strippers", Dom said, shrugging lazily. But he curled his arm around her neck, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Take away the fun part, why don't you", Letty grumbled teasingly.

He snorted.

Alexis raised both her eyebrows. "You guys finally set a date?"

"Middle of June", Letty said roughly.

"That's… good. Right?"

Letty huffed. "I'm ecstatic."

Mia tried valiantly not to laugh. "Letty wanted to elope in Vegas", she offered to Alexis. "Mom said no."

"Damn her", Letty said with a small laugh, relaxing as Dom rubbed her neck.

"You know, you guys are finally getting married", Alexis tilted her head curiously. "But I never did hear how the two of you got together, even though it happened a while after Dad and Theresa got married."

Letty sat up, grinning a bit evilly at her fiancé. "Well, if I recall correctly, it started with Dominic meddling in my business, and then lying to me about it-"

"Are you ever going to let that go?" he protested mildly.

Alexis chuckled. "So what happened?"

Letty tilted her head. "To begin with, it was nothing… but I guess it started the year I was going to turn seventeen. That Spring, my father put our house up for sale…"

00

"_Why wouldn't she say anything?" Theresa asked exasperatedly._

_Dominic snorted. "Ma, you know Letty. If she was dangling off a cliff and someone tossed her a rope, she'd consider chewing her own arm off first. She doesn't like asking for - or taking – help."_

"_Even from you?" she asked shrewdly._

"_Especially me!" he rolled his eyes. "I don't know what telepathic connection you think we have, but you're wrong. And maybe a little crazy", Dom teased._

"_Dom, I don't think you realize the problems that could come from messing around in their family business", Theresa said seriously._

"_I know Sal loves his daughter, but he sure as hell doesn't understand her. And either he's going to drag her to New York and she'll be miserable, or she's going to take off and no one will hear from her again. And Letty's told me... enough. Mom, we both know she'd be safer here."_

"_You honestly think the two of you could forego killing each other for the foreseeable future?"_

"_Stranger things have happened", he shrugged._

_Her eyes narrowed. "Alright, let me put it to you this way. You think I can trust the two of you to stay together in my house - where I'm still responsible for her - after I move out? That means no one is getting knocked up under my roof, and this house stays in one piece."_

"_Who the hell would be getting pregnant?" he asked incredulously._

"_Do I look stupid to you?"_

"_I'm not even suggesting that", Dom muttered._

"_If - and that's a big if - I consider this, the three of us are going to have a long and uncomfortable conversation. And I imagine her father would have something to say on the matter as well. And that... may not go well for you if he even gets a hint that there is anything between you two."_

"_I get that."_

_She sighed. "I'll think about this. But, Dominic, the final decision isn't mine. I'll do what I can to make sure Letty is safe, alright?"_

_He nodded. "Thanks, Mom."_

"_And I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you probably don't want Letty to know we had this conversation", she smirked slightly, eyebrow cocked._

_He grinned. "Hey, if I have to go for a verbal one-on- one with Salvatore Morales, I'm gonna need my balls intact."_

"_I'm still not kidding about no babies, Dominic", she called as he left the kitchen._

_He laughed. "No one around here intends to make you a grandma yet!"_

"_Not quite the answer I was hoping for", she muttered to herself as she went to start dinner._

_00_

_It was the summer Letty would turn seventeen. Dom had turned twenty several months prior, and she had taken to teasing him about being over the hill._

_Theresa was currently in the second week of her month-long honeymoon cruise, and had left fourteen year-old Mia at home for Dom to keep track of._

_Thankfully, Theresa's new husband had left his own daughter Alexis with her mother. Letty didn't want any part of refereeing the younger girls and trying to keep them from clawing each other's eyes out._

_The Toretto house hadn't been sold. The home was paid for already, and for the time being at least, Dom had agreed to take over paying the electric and utilities. Mia's bedroom was also still intact. Not only because Theresa was letting her ease into their new family situation - Mia didn't do well with change- but during Spring break Letty's father had made a permanent move to New York. And Letty had flat out refused to go with him…_

_0_

_Salvatore should have realized that only giving her a week's warning wouldn't have given him the upper hand, or prevented him from dealing with his daughter's stubborn nature. His tree had spawned the apple after all – in a manner of speaking._

_It had taken Dominic and his mother both to intervene on their argument… And that had only been after Letty's threats of emancipation had tipped the argument into dangerous territory._

"_I give you food, clothing, put a roof over, and generally make sure you don't get yourself killed, Leticia", Salvatore had snapped. "I suggest you find some respect."_

_Dom's hand clamped over her mouth from behind, muffling the rest of her arguments as he hauled her back into the Toretto house. Theresa could handle Letty's father just fine. Tony and Sal had been fast friends when Letty and her father had moved to the neighborhood. And Sal still had a lot of respect for his late friend's wife._

_In all fairness, Letty knew exactly how to piss off her father if she wanted to. She knew where the tipping point was, but her teenage years hadn't granted her much restraint._

_Dom thought __**he**__ could intimidate her? Please. Her father had the voice of thunder when he was pissed._

_And she hadn't flinched that day._

_Dominic had crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing her shrewdly._

"_Don't look at me like that", Letty snapped defensively. "He can't make me go with him!"_

_He rolled his eyes. "Laws in California dictate otherwise. You know you had another option in all of this, Let."_

"_Oh, pray tell", she growled._

"_You could stay here", he said flatly._

_She rolled her eyes. "Jesus, Dom, what did you think I was trying to do?! But in case you didn't notice, there's a fairly large '__**sold**__' sign on our house right now."_

"_I meant __**here**__", he gestured to the living room a bit aggravatedly. "Or are you misunderstanding me on purpose?"_

"_What the hell are you talking about? Your mom is getting married in almost two months and moving across town!"_

"_And? Letty, this house doesn't have a mortgage. Mom is signing the house over to me before they get married. The only thing left to pay for is electric and utilities."_

_She stared at him incredulously. "Whose fool idea was that?"_

_He snorted. "I've been practically __**running**__ the garage since I was sixteen, Let. What's your problem with this?"_

_She groaned and rubbed her forehead roughly. "It doesn't matter. Between your mom and my father, it's not going to happen."_

"_I wouldn't be too sure about that", he shrugged._

_Her eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"_

"_Do? Me? Nothing", he protested._

"_Bullshit-"_

_The front door slammed shut and cut off their would-be-argument. Theresa entered the living room._

"_Letty, you're staying here. End of discussion. Your father expects you for dinner tomorrow night. He has conditions for this arrangement, and I'd advise you don't push for anything else. You and I will talk later. If you need help with the rest of your things, let us know."_

_Letty blinked in confusion. "What the hell just happened?" she muttered._

_Theresa shook her head and gave the girl a hug. "You've never needed an invitation to stay here, mija", she said softly. "Don't you know that by now?"_

"_I- sorry", she muttered, a bit embarrassed at the fuss they had made over her._

_0_

_In any case, she now paid Dom rent - which kind of irritated her on principle, even if she was firmly against hand-outs. But still… writing a check to Dominic Toretto made her grind her teeth._

_It was the second week in July, and Los Angeles was in the middle of a stifling heat wave._

_Vince was over because Dom grumbled about a serious lack if testosterone in the house. The A/C was cranked up, and the four of them were lounging in the living room with the TV on._

_Mia had her legs hooked over the arm of the recliner she had taken, focused on whatever book was on her summer reading list._

_Vince had opted for the floor earlier when he'd had the option of taking half of the couch, but refused, because sitting next to Letty in any confined space usually meant she'd end up kicking him for something._

_He couldn't control what came out of his mouth, and she couldn't control her reactions. And they liked each other enough not to want to kill each other most of the time. So they took certain measures to keep peace. Riding in the same car together had a fifteen minute limit unless it was an emergency. It had been proven more than once that Letty could, and would, stretch across a moving vehicle to smack him upside the head - and then they'd yell until someone in the car had a headache._

_And they'd mellowed in the last couple years._

_So Letty got comfortable on the couch with her legs stretched across Dom's lap as they watched something blow up on the television._

_She was almost asleep when she felt him rubbing her bare feet. Letty looked over, but he was pointedly ignoring her. She stretched into his hand, flexing her calf muscles slightly as she went back to watching TV. She relaxed warily, but soon started drifting off again. It was a lazy day, and none of them wanted to be out in the heat. And she had been out until three that morning._

_It wasn't until he got to her ankles that she nearly jerked out of his grasp. She was suddenly very, very... awake._

_He looked at her then, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Ticklish?" he murmured, a bit amused._

_She wished._

"_Stop it", she muttered, jerking away as his fingers brushed her skin lightly._

_His grip on her ankles tightened, preventing her from pulling away completely, and she cursed under her breath, daring to glance over at Vince who was still deeply engrossed with whatever was playing on the television. Mia refused to be disturbed when she was reading; her name had to be called several times before she disengaged, so Letty wasn't worried._

_Letty considered that it was the lightness in his touch that did her in, not just the fact that he had unknowingly found a spot on her body that could turn her to mush. All that really mattered was '__**why the hell was he still touching her?**__'_

_But his fingers were lightly rubbing the inside of both her ankles, and she swallowed the noise that tried to creep out of her throat. She sat up from her lounging position, even though it put the rest of her body closer to him as well._

_She was clearly turned on. Her skin felt flushed, and her breathing was rapid and uneven. And Dominic was studying her blatantly._

"_Let go", she hissed roughly, about ready to slap his hands away from her skin just to get rid of these feelings._

"_**Interesting**__", he murmured softly, finally loosening his hold on her._

_She scrambled, making a hasty exit from the living room and went upstairs to take a cold shower._

00

**A/N: Well, that was chapter five! Hopefully you liked it! Let me know what you think. I'm really enjoying playing with this one… and blushing over the gratuitous sexiness. Lol. (I came back and edited a few things, so this looks better to me now! I almost set my own timeline out of wack!)**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter 6**_

Dom and Letty had slept in the next morning. Theresa had gone to her own home, and Mia had gone with her for the night for some mother/daughter bonding. Theresa had told Letty and Dominic to take a break the next day and come to the hospital later in the afternoon.

That was how they found themselves on their balcony making lunch on the grill just after twelve.

"God, I fuckin' _love_ L.A.", she sighed happily as she stepped out onto the balcony with two more beers after her quick shower.

Dom grinned at her over his shoulder. "You're welcome." He took in her outfit appreciatively. If he didn't know better, he might think Mia had wrangled her into the outfit. But he knew his fiancé had a style all her own.

She had dressed in a white, spaghetti strap baby-doll top with a dark purple ribbon around the high waist with faded jean shorts that showed off her shapely legs, and her hair fell in a wavy, dark waterfall down her back.

"Hey. What have I told you about taking credit for shit you didn't do?" she teased.

He just smirked. "If it weren't for me, I'm pretty sure your ass would be freezing in New York right now."

Her mouth twisted. "Okay, I'll give you this one."

Letty approached him, arms sliding around his waist from behind, handing him one of the cold bottles as he flipped their steaks over on the grill. Her forehead rested against the middle of his back contentedly as she felt one of his hands twist his fingers through hers. She stood up on her toes and kissed the side of his neck. He tugged her wrist gently, and she ducked under his arm to fit against his side.

"You're extra cuddly today", he mused. "What's up?"

"Are you really giving me shit right now because I'm having a particularly feminine lapse in judgment?" she tilted her head back to cock an eyebrow at him. "I can go back over there-" she gestured to the cushioned lounge chair.

"I wasn't complaining." He kissed the top of her head, arm tightening around her waist. "You stay right here."

She huffed out a laugh.

Then they both heard a knock on their apartment door.

Letty pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and stepped out of his embrace. "I'll get it. Check the steak."

As she approached their front door, the pattern of knocking got more obnoxious, and she silently promised whoever had come to ruin her and Dom's day a slow and painful death.

She peered out the spy-hole, because Dom had yelled at her enough for not doing it when they moved in, it had become a habit. Letty was surprised to see the person on the other side of the door.

_Mia._

Mia, who had walked in on one of their trysts that had only made it as far as the kitchen counter… She now warranted a text alert for their date nights so she wouldn't come over unless it was an emergency.

But Mia had not only _not_ used her key, but appeared to be grinning like a loon.

Letty unlocked the door and opened it.

She was immediately wrapped in a bear hug, lifted off the ground completely.

Her squeak of surprise didn't go unnoticed, and she recognized the laugh.

"Sorry, Let", Mia chuckled, shutting and locking the door. "Vince wanted to make an entrance."

"Entrance made", she insisted, slapping his back. "Put me down already."

He set her on the ground, hands sliding down her body playfully.

"'Ay! Watch the hands, man!" she laughed, pushing him away. "What are you doing here?"

"Mia called me and I got on a plane." Vince shook his head. "What have I told you guys about letting me know when you're stepping in shit?" he glared.

She groaned. "I'm sorry. Things have been crazy. You're gonna yell at Dom too, right?" she teased.

"Damn right", he rolled his eyes. "Besides, I was thinking about heading back this way anyhow. It was about time to come see Mia and our love child." He looked down at Jack a bit fondly before crouching down to pet him and take his leash off, telling him to 'go find Dom'.

_When Mia had been nineteen, she and Vince had nearly had… a thing. It had started with a very drunk Vince asking her if she would have his babies. She had originally blown it off, but a few conversations later had put them in an awkward place. And Vince had taken off for a scenic road trip to Vegas that had lasted almost six months. He had come back with a new tattoo – so had Letty, after she'd taken a trip to visit him as soon as she'd found out where he'd gone._

_It had taken a series of phone calls between him and Mia during the last three months of his trip for them to get through the weirdness, but Vince had eventually come home. And he'd brought Mia a puppy – Jack – as an apology for missing her birthday. The fact that they were now close enough to joke about that painful time period was a testament to the strength of their friendship._

_Vince had, however, met a few interesting characters in Vegas, and made short frequent trips to visit._

Mia shook her head in playful exasperation, while Letty laughed silently.

"Don't let Dom hear you say shit like that", Letty muttered. "He doesn't need to know about that crap."

"He already does."

Dominic's voice carried from where he was standing inside the patio door.

Mia went impossibly pale as her brother approached. "Shit."

Letty detected a bit of amusement on his face, well-hidden. That didn't mean they weren't in trouble. But she knew that he would deal with them separately in his own time.

"Mia, as far as I'm concerned, you're not having sex until you're married _and_ over thirty-five", Dom said seriously. "And do you really think I wouldn't find out why my best friend took off for Vegas without an explanation?"

Mia smacked Vince's shoulder. "You told him?!"

"Uh, did I forget to mention that?" he asked sheepishly.

"Apparently!"

Letty smirked.

"Don't laugh", Dom warned her, despite the arm around her shoulder. "I'll deal with you later."

"That's hardly fair", Vince chuckled. "Her blowjobs make you stupid."

"Don't be jealous", Letty teased. Then she ducked as he tried to put her in a chokehold.

He grimaced. "No problem."

Dom shook his head. "You guys hungry?"

"Tell me you didn't burn the steaks", Letty sighed.

"I'm offended by that accusation", Dom frowned at her.

She chuckled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I'm very sorry that I questioned your grill skills."

Vince pantomimed vomiting. "You two are disgusting. But points to Dom for making Letty act girly."

Letty landed a lightning fast slap to the back of his head.

"Ow! Damn, woman!" he yelped. "That wasn't necessary."

"I am _not_ girly."

Dominic just buried a grin and kept his mouth shut. _He had experienced more than enough of Letty's 'girly' moments to know she was lying through her teeth. But he was smart enough not to share._ "Come on outside", he said. "Let's eat."

00

_**Thursday, following the last flashback:**_

_Dom let her pretend to avoid him for a few days, but finally tracked her down in her bedroom Thursday night while Mia was taking a turn cleaning up the kitchen._

"_Trust you to get all kinky about a foot rub", he teased._

_Her jaw dropped. "I didn't- you're a jerk!"_

_He just laughed. "Done ignoring me now? You're crazy, girl."_

_Letty groaned. "You're impossible."_

"_You're just embarrassed because I know you got turned on while I was touching you", he mused._

"_Ugh- you don't have to make it sound so dirty. Stop saying you were touching me", she shuddered dramatically._

_His mouth twitched. "And here I was thinkin' you weren't a prude… I guess I should have realized it was just a bunch of talk."_

_Her eyes boggled at him. "Excuse me?"_

_He crowded her against her dresser. "Talking about shit is different than doing it. I know. You wanted me to tell you that you got me horny? If you want us to be all 'open communication' about that, you gotta return the favor."_

"_Way to take this __**way**__ too seriously, Dominic", she rolled her eyes. "What was I supposed to say, sitting in the living room with Vince and your __**sister**__ in the room? 'Yo, Dom, quit rubbing my ankles; apparently it gets me hot and bothered real quick'?" she growled exasperatedly._

_He grinned and ruffled her hair, "'Atta girl!"_

_She glared at him and pushed him out of her immediate space. "Motherfucker! I can't believe I fell for that."_

"_Me either, but it was sexy as hell", Dom chuckled, watching in amusement as her face went red. "Mia's spending the night with Jana down the street tomorrow night", he said thoughtfully. "We should celebrate."_

"_Celebrate what, exactly?" Letty asked warily._

"_Freedom, Let", he rolled his eyes. "Barring this weird shared custody thing I have with Mom over Mia, you and I can do what we do, and as long as we take care of shit, no one is going to be up our asses."_

_Her mouth twitched. "Maybe…"_

"_That's the spirit!"_

_She watched him walk out of her room and shook her head. "I'm going to regret this", she mused under her breath._

_00_

_Saturday morning Dominic was in the kitchen cooking breakfast when he heard the thump and the litany of Spanish curses that followed. His mouth twitched. Letty was hilarious when she was tired. Her brain crapped out on English for her sometimes, and Spanish was her default setting._

_Now she was not only tired, but hung-over… and had probably fallen out of bed._

_The hiss and squeak of the water pipes was heard as she turned the shower on._

_He had only been up for twenty minutes, and it was nearly noon._

_0_

_Last night had been the first night that they had spent alone in the Toretto household, and Dom had procured a bottle of tequila, saying they should celebrate._

_To her credit, Letty had put up a token of protest, saying that her father would sense her misbehavior and fly back just to drag her to New York, never to be heard from again._

_Half a pizza and some well-place taunting later, she had picked up the first shot. Letty looked over at him. "__**This**__ never happened", she said seriously, staring at him from the spot she had taken on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table. "My father does __**not**__ think I'm too old to get an ass beating."_

_His mouth twisted with a bit of amusement. "Oh, come on, Let. How long has it really been since you got into that much trouble?"_

_Her eyes narrowed, and she gnawed on the inside of her bottom lip. He was her best friend, but there were things that almost felt too personal - if not awkward – to talk about, especially as they got older. And this was one of those things - but for a different reason._

_She downed the shot of tequila quickly, grimacing at the burn and the taste._

"_About two weeks after... the funeral", she said quietly. "I left the house one night without telling him. I just... drove. When I finally stopped, I could see the Nevada state line. I would have come back eventually. It was after three a.m. when his car pulled off to the side of the road in front of mine."_

"_Let-"_

"_I thought he would make me leave the car there", she almost laughed. "He just told me to follow him back home. I knew he was pissed. And he was worried about me... Something I didn't get when I had left. He would have understood if I'd been able to say something about it. He made it count though. I didn't sit comfortably for four or five days afterwards. And on top of that, I was grounded for a month. But after all that... he was there for me, Dom. More than he had been since my mom left. I lost it. I cried for the first time since the funeral. For hours. He held me like he hadn't since I was a kid. He was supposed to go to New York for a few weeks. I know he said he was keeping up with my punishment, but he stayed because I needed him."_

_Dom was staring at her incredulously when she looked over._

"_Get that look off your face right now", she ordered._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_I know what you're thinking, so don't bother playing stupid. My father never gave me anything more than I deserved, so quit looking like you want to punch something."_

_He reached a hand in her direction. "Come here", he said quietly._

_She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Stop it. I'm not Mia. Cuddling isn't going to put me in a good mood."_

"_Would you quit pretending you're such a hardass and get over here", he ordered._

"_Dammit, Dominic", she muttered as she settled beside him reluctantly. "You never leave well enough alone."_

"_Not when it comes to you", he said seriously. He poured her another shot and handed her the small glass._

"_I meant what I said earlier. You can't say anything about tonight."_

_Dom's mouth twitched. "No worries, girl. I got you."_

"_You better. I catch you running your mouth about how you got me drunk, and I'll cut off your cajones and put them in a trophy case", she muttered._

_He chuckled. "Drink up."_

_0_

_She entered the kitchen a bit later with a groan. "How are you cooking?"_

_He leaned against the counter, a slight smirk on his face. "There she is. How you doing, champ?"_

_She glared balefully. "Ricky Ricardo is doing the Lambada on my brain. And it felt like a squirrel died in my mouth before I brushed my teeth."_

_His smile widened, and he nodded at the pills on the counter. "Take those, and then get yourself some coffee. And __**this**__, is a pure hang-over remedy", Dom gestured to the food cooking on the stove._

_Letty swallowed her Advil and water. "So's not drinking", she muttered, taking the coffee cup he handed her and going to fix her caffeinated drink. "Remind me not to listen to you next time", Letty groaned._

"_Why would I do that when I know I've got peer pressure going for me?" he joked._

_She rolled her eyes, and gestured to whatever mess he was making for breakfast on the stove. "You want me to do something here?"_

_He shook his head. "You can grab a couple plates."_

"'_Kay."_

00

**A/N: Yay! I was hoping to get this finished up! Holiday-ness took over my life for about a week, and I didn't get any writing done. I hope those of you who celebrate holidays – whatever they may be – enjoyed yourselves. Let me know what you think about this one!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter 7**_

They had woken early, and now were taking a few moments to relax before beginning their day. Letty was sprawled lazily across his chest, and Dom was internally cautious of her thinking face.

"What do you want for your birthday?" she asked finally.

Dom looked down at her skeptically. "My birthday isn't for months."

"So?"

He chuckled. "It's too far away. I haven't thought about it."

She traced a pattern idly on his chest with her fingertips, watching the motion intently. "We could play that game you like…" she said in an undertone, before glancing up for a split second with a bit of a smirk on her lips. "Because that really is a once a year kind of thing…"

He raised an eyebrow at the offer. "You know I'll find your outfit if we do that. What's the deal?"

"I was just thinking, your birthday is only a couple months before our wedding, and we'll probably be busy…"

"You expect me to believe that when you can't even look me in the eye right now?"

She made a point to meet his eyes before looking back down. "It was just a question. So what do you want? A party, a threesome-what?"

Dominic stared at the top of her head incredulously. "You _know_ a threesome wouldn't be a good present for either of us. The idea of anyone else putting their hands on you pisses me off. And I don't want anyone but you touching me like that either. And you're just as possessive as I am. Mind telling me what's going on?" he asked seriously.

She sighed and rolled off him carefully before getting out of bed. "It's nothing."

He followed her off the bed and caught her elbow from behind. Dom rolled his eyes, knowing she couldn't see him. "Yeah, well you make sure to tell me when your 'nothing' turns into a 'something', okay?" he said, doing a fairly decent job of reigning in his sarcasm.

She shrugged him off and headed into the bathroom for a shower. "You got it", she lilted lazily.

0

Letty had mostly dried her hair, managed to apply a bit of makeup, and gotten dressed while he'd taken his own quick shower.

She had put on a white buttoned blouse with three-quarter length sleeves with a pair of dark was skinny jeans. Her grey suede, short-heeled boots hugged her claves snugly, the silver buckles made the zippered boots look classy but casual.

"You done being icy with me?" Dom asked casually, pinning her against the counter while she was making coffee.

She sighed, letting her head fall on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"What's going on?"

"I- can we do this tonight?" Letty asked quietly. "I'm sure it's nothing. And I've got a stop to make before Mia and your mom force me into wedding dresses."

"You're sure _what_ is nothing?" he turned her around to see her face.

She tipped her face up slightly and kissed his jaw. "I'm fine, okay? Promise. Don't look so worried."

"You can tell me anything, you know", he said seriously.

"I know. And I will. Tonight, alright?"

He nodded. "Fine. Call if you need me."

"I always do", she laughed under her breath.

He pulled her into a tight embrace, and she slid her arms around him, face buried against his chest. "I love you", he murmured against the top of her hair.

"I know that too."

He chuckled. "I'll make dinner tonight."

"Cool."

He pinched her waist gently, still holding her against his body. "Let, you'd better say it, or you're going to be late."

"That tickles!" she laughed. "I love you too."

"You better."

"Have fun at the garage", she muttered grudgingly.

He leaned down to kiss her gently. "Try to have fun today", he teased.

"Yeah, yeah", she rolled her eyes. "You're just glad it's not you."

"Vince is at the bar for you, right?"

Letty nodded. "Yeah, things go so much better when he's in town. He can glare at the idiots for me."

Dominic grinned.

"Okay, I gotta go. Theresa will kill me if I'm late. And your sister will help her." Letty grabbed her purse and headed for the door without her coffee.

Dom glanced from the coffee pot to the now closed door, mouth tightened thoughtfully. "Shit."

00

"Alright, mijas", Theresa said, checking over her list as they waited for their breakfast order. "We've got three boutiques to stop at today and I narrowed it down to two florists, Letty. You just have to pick."

"Let me see?" Letty asked curiously, reaching for the spiral pad of paper.

Mia sipped at her strawberry-mint infused water that had been poured from the pitcher in the middle of the table. Sometimes watching her mother and Letty was like a ping-pong match.

Theresa handed over her notes, watching as Letty glanced at the list and typed something into her phone before scrolling around for a few minutes and then starting the process over again as Mia looked over her shoulder.

"This one", Letty said finally, handing the notepad back, "The one in Long Beach."

"Have you been making plans without me?" Theresa teased.

Letty rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No, but I want calla lilies… and maybe something else mixed with them."

Theresa nodded and made a few notes. "Alright. We can deal with the specifics later. I'll get in touch with them Monday."

"Uh-huh… now what was that I saw about lingerie?" Letty cocked an eyebrow.

"You don't need to worry about that until we get your dress. But you will need some things that will fit under it properly. And I'm assuming the two of you will go on some kind of a honeymoon, yes?" Theresa returned the look of exasperation that was currently on Letty's face. "I'll leave that part to you, of course."

"Huh", Letty murmured. "And here I was thinking of going commando."

Mia choked on her water, "Letty!"

"I'm just saying", Letty teased, slapping her on the back. "There are possibilities."

"Lord, give me strength", Theresa mumbled under her breath.

"So?" Mia nudged her friend. "What do you want your wedding dress to look like?"

Letty groaned as Mia peppered her with questions. "It's going to be a long eight months."

00

"Beer or water", Dominic asked when she walked in the door near five that evening.

"Vodka", she answered seriously.

He raised an eyebrow but headed for the bar. "Bad day?"

"Long", she muttered, sinking onto the couch rubbing her forehead.

He held out her glass, letting he take it before taking the spot next to her. She shifted, resting her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah", she said quietly. "I'm sorry about this morning."

He rubbed her back gently. "No baby, huh?" he asked carefully.

She pulled back slightly. "How did you-?"

"I know my girl", he pressed her back against him and kissed her temple. "You went to the doctor this morning?"

Letty nodded. "We're not ready for any of that", she said finally.

"You're right", he agreed after a minute. "But if it happens before we are, or it doesn't happen at all, we'll be okay. I promise."

"I know."

"Everything okay, other than that?" he asked seriously.

"The nurse did a preliminary blood test and it looked normal. The doctor is going to get back to me, but agreed with me when I said it was probably stress. Things have been a bit more hectic than usual. But the pregnancy test is definitely negative."

"I'm going with you to your next appointment."

"You don't have to-"

His glare cut her off.

"I'll shut up", she muttered sheepishly. "How much trouble am I in for not telling you that I thought I was pregnant?"

"Not sure yet", he shook his head.

"Fuckin' awesome", she grumbled.

Dom rubbed the back of her neck gently. "You want a massage before dinner?"

"Really?"

He snorted. "What? I still love you when you annoy me."

She chuckled, "Good thing, huh?"

He stood up, pulling her up with him, walking her to their bedroom in front of him with his arms around her waist. "Besides, now that I know you won't be throwing up, you can help me with the spaghetti sauce later."

She laughed under her breath, "Oh, you thought that, huh?"

He kicked the door shut behind them and started peeling her clothes off. "Yup."

_00_

_It was Friday evening and Dominic had been listening to Letty's footsteps upstairs pacing for a good hour already._

_She had a date with a guy in from her shop class. That's what she'd told him at least. He couldn't figure out if she was nervous or didn't care. And even if it was the former, he wasn't planning on being helpful._

_The idea of her dating… __**irked**__ him._

_Dom raised an eyebrow at her when she came finally came downstairs. "Looks like you're missing about half your outfit, Ortiz."_

_Letty rolled her eyes and went to grab her keys from the counter._

"_When's this guy showing up?" Dom asked, following her into the kitchen._

"_He's not", she said easily._

"_Wanna run that by me again?" he demanded, voice lowering._

_She cocked an eyebrow. "You think I'm gonna let some chulo cart me around in his car? I'm meeting him at the theater."_

"_Curfew's still midnight, Let."_

"_Go get laid, Dom. You're cranky as hell when you're horny. See you later."_

_She was out the door and in her car before he could have the last word._

_And he intended to have it._

_So he settled in to wait._

_0_

_It was a quarter 'til one when she stepped through the back door._

"_You're late", he growled dangerously._

"_Man, I was born awesome, not perfect", she quipped. "Give me a break."_

"_Where'd you go?"_

"_Movies, then the arcade", she shrugged, pulling off her jacket and draping it over one of the kitchen chairs._

"_You let him win?" Dom asked seriously._

_She snorted. "Nah, I kicked his ass."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You really think I'd act like someone I'm not just to impress some guy?" she asked incredulously._

"_No, I taught you better than that."_

"_Always taking credit for shit you didn't do, huh?" she chuckled._

"_Pretty sure I had a little bit to do with it", he said confidently._

"_Mhmm", she hummed lazily, walking to the cupboard for a glass. "How do you figure that?"_

"_You need an Alpha male who can handle your bullshit without being scared off", he said seriously._

_Letty blinked twice, trying to wrap her head around the latest bit of nonsense Dominic was currently preaching at her, and finally laughed. "Oh my god... Dom, you're so full of shit. And the idea that who I'm attracted to has anything to do with you is completely absurd." She poured herself half a glass of iced tea and sipped it, leaning against the counter._

_He moved into her space, hands planted on the counter on either side of her, locking her in place, "You sure about that?"_

"_You've got three seconds to get out of my face", she warned calmly._

_He smirked. "And you've got to open the garage in the morning. Did I forget to mention that earlier?"_

_Her eyes narrowed and she pushed him away from her. "You're a dick", Letty complained, going to wash out her glass at the sink._

"_You still love me", he said, grinning at her lazily._

"_Not right now I don't", she muttered._

"_Cut the lights on your way up", Dom said easily. "I'm going to bed."_

"_Better sleep with one eye open, pendejo", she muttered under her breath._

"_I heard that!" he called, laughing as he went upstairs._

_0_

_Saturday after work, Letty face-planted on the couch, completely exhausted. And Dominic's laughter did nothing to improve her mood._

"_Shut up, Dom", she growled into the cushion._

"_Tired?" he teased gently._

"_It's your fault."_

_He crouched near the couch even though she was faced away from him. "I was too rough on you today, huh?"_

"_Go 'way. I need a nap."_

"_Don't you want your bed?"_

"_Too many stairs", she answered after a minute._

_Dominic sighed. "Alright, I'm putting you to bed."_

_That was all the warning her gave before scooping her off the couch and heading upstairs._

_She was half asleep already, or she might have hit him. "I'll be mad at you later", she muttered against his neck._

"_Shower?" he asked as he carried her upstairs._

"_Hmm."_

"_That's not an answer, Let."_

"_Eh", she shrugged._

_His eyes rolled, and he headed to the bathroom and set her down, holding her waist until she figured out how to work her feet again. He was unbuttoning her cargo pants when she finally realized what was going on._

"_Hey!"_

"_You shower, and then you go get some sleep. You know you hate sleeping in your bed when you're covered in oil. You can eat dinner later."_

_She let her head fall on his shoulder wearily. "__**Tired**__", she insisted._

"_Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna make sure you don't drown." He let her step out of her pants and pulled his shirt over his head._

_Letty peered up at him with suspicious, narrowed eyes. "You're just trying to get me naked", she said warily._

_He grinned. "I promise not to pay too much attention."_

_She scoffed, but fought her tank top over her head, "Liar."_

_Dom held both of his hands up innocently. "I'll behave", he promised seriously._

"_If I wasn't so tired-" she paused to yawn. "I know this is a bad idea for some reason", she finished, pulling the ponytail from her hair. Her head tipped back as his fingers massaged her scalp, and she couldn't swallow the moan that crawled up her throat._

"_I won't tell if you don't", he mused, fingers working down her neck._

"_Fine", she sighed. "Come on. But you'd better keep your hands PG, man."_

00

**A/N: I can't believe I got another one posted already! You're welcome! – Kidding – Thanks, everyone for leaving comments! You guys are awesome. So this is just another aspect of both sides of their lives. Let me know what you think about this one! And Dom conned Letty into a platonic shower… how? I'm not sure. She almost kicked him out, but he worked his magic fingers on her just right I guess.**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Go read the previous chapter if you missed it last week. Our website wasn't sending alerts properly.**

_**Chapter 8**_

The next day Dom hauled Letty out of bed by seven, ignoring her protest with an amused grin. She crossed her arms with a smirk as she watched him go through her clothes.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked lazily.

He tossed a black t-shirt at her with a pair of grey cargo pants. "Get dressed. We've got places to be."

"Damn, you're bossy", she teased. Letty pulled the t-shirt she'd taken from him last night over her head and went to find the underwear that he'd conveniently forgotten.

Dominic had gotten ready before he'd ushered her out of bed. He let her finish in the bathroom, and had grabbed her purse and a thermos of coffee, barely letting her finish her ponytail as he guided her through their apartment. She shoved her feet into her tennis shoes and took her purse, sipping at her coffee immediately as he opened the door.

"But-" she pointed towards the kitchen he had forced her to bypass completely. "_Food_", she whined.

He laughed, as he pulled the door shut behind them and locked the deadbolt. "We'll get breakfast."

0

"You're not going to tell me where we're going, are you?" Letty mused as they left the diner they had stopped at for breakfast.

"Nope", he answered easily, heading across town.

She chuckled and relaxed in the passenger seat, pushing her sunglasses in place. "Alright, fine. I'll be good."

His mouth twitched. "Coffee was that good, huh?"

"Ha-ha", she murmured. _Letty was equally grateful and apprehensive that this wasn't going the way it had last time. Their lives were inevitably changing, but she knew they could handle it together._

She'd stuck by his side after his father had died. He hadn't been fit to live with, and they hadn't even been together yet – she'd only been thirteen at the time. He'd returned the favor in spades when they hadn't known how to be in a relationship. Dom had weathered her surly teenage years, which she knew hadn't been easy.

Letty leaned back against the headrest with a smirk playing on her mouth. _She hadn't made it easy on him._

00

_**Five years ago:**_

_Letty was more than irritated as she waited for her plane to start boarding. Her father had not only escorted her to the JFK airport, but brought one of his new body guards for good measure. She got the feeling that Nico was silently amused with her._

_It was the end of June. Letty was close to turning nineteen, and she already had one year of college under her belt. She was more than aware that her behavior seemed childish. But Dominic had conspired against her with her father, and she wasn't taking that lying down._

_The Morales penthouse apartment had been very loud the past few days._

"_Get on the plane, go back to Los Angeles, and deal with your problems", Salvatore said seriously. "I don't want to hear about something like this again. We don't run from our problems."_

_Letty stared at her father stonily._

"_And make sure that attitude gets lost somewhere on the flight", he added._

"_You won't like anything I have to say right now", she said tightly._

"_I'm not the one you have to deal with", he shrugged as her flight was announced. "I'll speak to you in a week."_

_She sighed, "Fine."_

"_Have a good flight."_

"_Would have been better if you hadn't put me in coach", she said mildly._

"_Consider it part of your punishment." He hugged her briefly, pausing only to say quietly, "He loves you, you know. Don't waste it."_

_Surprise flickered over her face briefly as she pulled away. "I'll text you when I land in L.A.", she offered._

_Letty got on the plane._

_00_

_Eight hours later:_

_In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have started a fight the second she walked through the door._

_**Dominic had spent a lot more time preparing for this argument than she had.**_

_He'd been waiting for her when the cab dropped her off. She'd walked around the house to let herself in through the kitchen door that she knew would be unlocked. Her suitcase was dropped to the floor unceremoniously._

"_You called my father!" she snapped incredulously. "That was completely unnecessary!"_

"_Hello to you too", he mused dryly._

"_Dom!"_

"_You wouldn't take my calls", he said pointedly._

"_I didn't want to talk to you."_

"_Yeah, well, I'm not giving you a choice. You've got one chance here, Let… or things are going to get ugly."_

_Her head cocked to the side, unimpressed. "Threats, really?"_

_Dom shook his head calmly. "Not a threat. We're having this conversation one way or another. You're about to choose how it's going to happen."_

"_You know what, Dominic? You got me back to L.A. Why don't you just call that a win, and leave the rest of it alone?"_

"_Hard way it is, then", he nodded. "I spoke to Sal while you were on the plane – at length. I don't think I need to tell you how he suggested I handle this."_

_Her eyes widened slightly. "You wouldn't dare."_

"_I'm not your father", he said flatly. "And I'm not going to try to keep you somewhere you don't want to be. You've got an apartment in Pasadena. It's not like you don't have anywhere to go. But you've got to give me another way to get through to you here if you want to stay. I don't want our relationship to be like that. You've got your father's damn temper, and you know it."_

"_You're lucky I don't have my mother's temper, or I'd have stabbed you by now", she said seriously._

"_What's it gonna be, Letty?"_

_**She was so close to apologizing and admitting she just wanted him to hold her…**_

"_You gonna give me a way to chisel through the igloo or what?"_

_**And then… he ruined it.**_

_Her eyes narrowed. "Did you just call me __**frigid?!**__"_

_0_

_There had been another twenty minutes of yelling before he'd gotten fed up, and just hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried her upstairs, dropping her on the bed._

_Cornering her in a fight never ended well, and his pinning her to the bed and demanding answers had similar results. How their scuffle had ended with her pants and his shirt on the floor, she wasn't exactly certain._

_But now she was lying across his lap, on a pillow, under extreme duress, while Dom attempted a less extreme measure than what she knew her father had suggested._

_**It was, more or less, down to a battle of wills.**_

"_Say please", he laughed, listening to her cursing under her breath._

"_No!"_

"_Come on, Let. Give it up."_

"_Dom, I hate you so much right now-"_

_He smacked her butt just hard enough to sting. "Don't lie. You do not."_

"_Uh, ow!" she complained pointedly. "Let me up!"_

"_I told you. Say please."_

"_**Hell**__ no", she growled. "When you said trust exercises, this wasn't what I thought would be happening!"_

"_You're the one being stubborn, chica. Don't think I won't sit here all day. The deal was 'you lay here and talk to me'."_

"_What if I have to pee?" she tried exasperatedly. She got another smack, slightly harder. "Goddammit! Besides, it doesn't sound like I'm getting anything out of this deal than a sore backside."_

"_I already told you exactly how to get yourself out of this", he reminded. "I find it pretty damn funny that you think you have more patience than I do. We've got all the time in the world. And if I was spanking you, you'd know it. So quit whining."_

_Letty cursed under her breath, in Spanish this time. "I have __**got**__ to stop listening to you", she muttered._

_He glared even though he knew she couldn't see him. "You not listening to me is what landed you in this position in the first place. And now you're being too hard-headed to get yourself out of it."_

"_I bet you didn't pull this shit with any of your other girlfriends."_

"_No, because I care about you more than that."_

"_Yeah, well, act like it", she muttered._

"_Excuse me?"_

_She twisted herself enough to look at him. "You got me all hot and bothered, and pulled whatever the hell this is supposed to be to teach me a lesson! You tricked me."_

"_Things got heated between us, and instead of talking to me, you left in the middle of the night and jumped on a plane to New York and didn't come back for three weeks! And you're gonna lay here complaining because I should ignore that and pound you into the mattress?"_

"_I don't see what the problem is here. We're both horny. Let's handle that and see where the dust settles."_

"_And you think __**I**__ suck at relationships", he said under his breath. She pinched his thigh. His fingers threaded through her hair gently to tip her head back just enough to see her face. "Keep it up", he warned, letting her go. "Your ass is mine right now."_

"_Yeah, well you're not my favorite person right now", she shook her head. "I can't __**believe**__ you called my father."_

"_Sure you can", he mused. "You're just pissed that he agreed with me and put you on a plane."_

"_**Damn right I am**__", she snarled._

"_Yeah, well, if he hadn't, I was coming to you. And that wouldn't have ended well."_

"_You need to either take the rest of my clothes off, or get your hands off me", she said finally as his hands stroked the backs of her thighs._

_He snorted. "You and I are not having sex tonight… or any night in the foreseeable future, for that matter."_

_She groaned. "What are talking about?"_

"_You and I are fine until something serious happens, and if it's about you, you pull away. I'm not doing this with you. Not like this. You told me you couldn't be in a relationship with my bullshit, Let. I'm not asking you to be something you're not. I know all of this is part of you. But you've got to be able to let me see the rest of it. I can't force you to do it, and I wouldn't want it that way. I need you to trust me enough to take the walls down. And you stopped doing that when we got physical." He tapped the top of her head. "Babies are a product of sex. You get that, right?" he teased._

_She rolled her eyes. "Is there a point coming up?"_

_Dominic pushed her off his lap carefully and stretched out on the bed next to her, hand curled gently around her hip. "There are two people involved in sex. And just because you're on the pill doesn't mean it's foolproof. Something could happen, ready or not. That's not just on you. You needed to be able to tell me you thought you could be pregnant – __**without**__ flying across the country. So yeah. We're taking a break from sex for a while. Deal with it."_

"_But I'm fucking horny!"_

"_Then you better figure out your issues, babe." He squeezed her waist reassuringly. "I'll help if you let me."_

"_I can't believe you're cutting me off", she groaned._

_He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm starting to think you only like me for my body."_

"_Well…" she bit her bottom lip, eyes trained on his muscular chest, "it's a hot body."_

"_Oh, that's it-"_

"_Dom, no!" she shrieked as he turned her on her back, pinning her down to tickle her until tears ran down her face._

00

Three hours later, Letty fell back into the passenger seat with a soft laugh. "Damn, that was fun."

Their journey had taken them to Sun Valley; to the same place he'd taken her paintballing on her twentieth birthday, and made several other trips with their friends over the years. Dominic always jokingly told her that had better be the only time she was pointing a gun at him. Shooting things always put her in a better mood.

Dom smirked and leaned in to kiss her quickly before shutting her door and rounding the front of the car.

He revved the engine as his hand settles on her knee squeezing gently before pulling out of his parking spot to start their trip home. Her mouth quirked slightly and she reached for her purse on the floor to dig out her phone.

"You're mom called me", she frowned.

"Yeah, she does that", he mused.

"Funny." Letty punched in her voicemail passcode to listen to the message.

"Well?" Dom asked after she put her phone away.

"Mike was released to go home this morning."

"That's good."

She nodded. "Theresa wants the family over at their place tomorrow", she added after a minute.

Dom shot her a quick look. "Don't you want to go?"

"I didn't say that."

"You want some lunch?"

She sighed. "I could go for a burger."

"We passed a decent place about half an hour from here."

"Sounds good", Letty agreed.

He kept a casual eye on her while he drove, and it was nearly fifteen minutes later before he spoke. "You know, you're punishing yourself worse than I would have", Dominic said quietly.

Her mouth tensed, but she said nothing.

"What do you want me to do here, Let? Yell at you? I'm not really angry. And we both know yelling doesn't fix things between us."

"I broke a promise", she said finally.

"You didn't leave the state this time", he said mildly. "That's an improvement. Maybe next time you'll throw the test at me and say something like, 'hey, Dom, looks like we might have fucked up with birth control again', and not ask me about having a threesome."

Letty made a noise of embarrassment, "Oh, god. Please, just stop."

He shot her a smile and reached for her hand. He relaxed when she turned her palm over, twining their fingers together.

"We'll settle this tonight, okay?" he asked finally. "Things will be normal tomorrow. So, do me a favor and call my mom back. Find out what time we're supposed to go over."

"She said one-thirty."

"Call her and let her know we'll see her tomorrow, alright?"

She nodded and held down the number 'four' on her keypad to dial Theresa's cell phone. She confirmed the invitation quickly and tossed the phone in her purse.

"Will you please fuckin' _relax_ now?" Dom sighed. "Can you just let me spend the day with you without you acting like I'm gonna break up with you or something?"

"I'm sorry."

"Do you know how much I love you?"

She chuckled. "Bunches."

"That doesn't go away even when we upset each other. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It's just been so long since we've had a problem between _us_… it threw me for a loop."

"It sucks, but shit happens. We're still okay, Letty."

She moved their joined hands and kissed his knuckles. "I love you too."

00

They were lying on their bed later that night after dinner. Both had changed into sleep clothes, which for once didn't mean naked.

Most of their arguments ended in the bedroom, but few weren't concluded by makeup sex.  
Tomorrow morning there would be sex, but now wasn't the time.

Letty was on her side of the bed with Dom spooned up behind her, his arm around her waist, knowing his touch calmed her nerves more than words did.

"Why didn't you want to tell me before?" he prodded gently. "You know if you were, we'd make it work, right?"

She turned over to face him. "I just... wanted to know before I said anything."

"Control freak", he teased, reaching to brush her hair back from her face. "Why couldn't we find out together?"

"The idea of having a kid freaks me out a little. I didn't know what I wanted. If I was going to happy or not if the test was positive… and then it wasn't."

"And?"

"I was a little disappointed", she sighed. "But we agreed, for right now, no babies. And until things calm down, we need to try to stick to that."

"Do you think things are ever going to calm down?" he asked seriously.

"I don't know."

"What do you want, Let?"

She pressed herself closer to him, and he shifted onto his back, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "Just this. As long as you come home in one piece every night, I'm good."

"Hey, I don't want to do this forever either, okay? So if you change your mind first, we'll leave. No question. I won't resent you for it. You just have to tell me."

"Dom, you know you're not going to be okay leaving your mom and Mia here. And yeah, there's some crap I don't like… but I don't need things to be perfect."

"If we leave, we'll figure out the rest of it later."

"Okay."

"And tell me right now that you won't go to anymore 'I think I might be pregnant' appointments without me", he said roughly.

She rolled her eyes. "Dr. West said that if I come in for another test without you, she won't give it to me."

Dom grinned. "I knew I liked her."

"Cute. Now I'm getting double-teamed."

"Good."

"Next time we fight, can it be about _you_ doing something stupid?" Letty muttered. "I need to stop acting like such a head case."

"Maybe you're PMSing", he said casually.

"Oh, great. Wouldn't that be ironic?" Her eyes narrowed. "And shouldn't you tell me I'm not a head case?"

"There's no point telling the grass it's not green", he smirked.

She huffed, playfully annoyed.

He leaned and kissed her softly, "You good now?"

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "If we're okay, I'm good."

"Yeah, we're okay. Gonna be able to sleep now?"

"I think so. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day."

His hand slid down to grab her butt, squeezing playfully. "Let's go to bed."

00

**A/N: Ha-ha! I really like this one, actually. The next chapter is nearly finished – and quite long… We will finally meet Mike, see more of Alexis, and you'll get another flashback to before Dom and Letty got together. I'm excited! (Did anyone catch what happened in the beginning of the flashback?)**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Flashback is back to Dom and Letty not knowing what they're doing. Lol. Thanks for taking a timeline break with me in the last chapter!**

_**Chapter 9**_

Mia woke up around nine and took a shower before getting dressed and packing a bag, knowing that her mother's day long barbeque would last all day, and it would most likely extend to breakfast the next morning until everyone was sober. She let Jack out to run through the fenced in backyard setting his food and water bowls on the ground to the side of the steps while she made herself a quick breakfast.

It had taken her a while to get used to the silence that now surrounded her childhood home. But with Dominic as her landlord, her rent was cheap, and she didn't have to pay much to have things fixed. And Vince, Leon, and Jesse still occasionally took the liberty of crashing with her, which she didn't mind at all.

She finished her breakfast and refilled her coffee cup before going to sit on the steps of the back porch.

Jack ran up to her quickly, and she made him sit before pulling a small treat from the pocket of her jean shorts. He took it from her gently, and she rubbed his head. "Good boy."

She made a noise of playful disgust when he licked her cheek, and swiped at the dog drool with her arm as he took off again. Mia finished her coffee and took it back inside to wash before coming back out with a red tennis ball. _It was a lot easier to find in the yard than the yellow ones._

Jack was good in the car, but he was more likely to just lie down in the backseat if she wore him out first… and she had a stop to make before she drove to Beverly Hills.

She wanted to know _exactly_ why she'd been given misinformation – about her family, no less.

Her mother might be married to a wealthy man who owned what would be considered a mansion, but Mia had grown up in Echo Park. And she was a Toretto.

She pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to her brother.

'_Let Mom know I'll be there by 2:30.'_

Anthony Toretto's daughter could handle her own offenses… and shame on anyone who thought otherwise.

_00_

"_Hey, Let. Come out 'ere", Dom called._

_Letty stepped out the back door, pausing on the stairs, as she fought with her hair briefly to put it in a high ponytail. "I'm not letting her hit me", she refuted with a grin, tilting her head towards Mia. "Baby-girl has pointy knuckles."_

_She had been inside getting the living room and kitchen cleaned while Dom was in the backyard with Mia, giving her pointers on throwing a punch. Mia was starting eighth grade in the fall, and would be fourteen in October, and her brother had decided it was long overdue that she learned how to defend herself… against boys._

_Letty remembered Dom and Vince coaching __**her**__ when she was about twelve, but she'd always had a quick swinging fist. Something Dominic had found out firsthand._

_He smirked. "You want to take a swing at me though, don't ya?"_

_Mia gasped incredulously. "I don't think that's a good idea-"_

_Letty's eyebrows went up. "Say what now?"_

"_You're gonna make me __**beg**__ you to try and deck me?" Dom laughed. "Really?"_

_Letty took a few steps off the porch, considering the scenario. "I gotta pull my punch?"_

"_I'll catch it", he promised._

"_Man, if I break your nose-"_

"_You're not actually gonna hit me", he rolled his eyes. "Just come here."_

_She shrugged and crossed to the middle of the backyard, squaring off against Dominic._

"_This is a bad idea", Mia muttered._

"_You sure?" Letty asked Dom reluctantly._

_He rubbed his jaw teasingly. "Throw a right cross, okay? I'm gonna duck out of your way. You remember how this went last time?"_

_Letty groaned, recalling when it had been Dom and Vince in the backyard with her teaching her to throw a punch. "Yeah, you got a black eye because you didn't get out of my way fast enough."_

_He grinned at the fact that she was still embarrassed over the incident. __**Any time she wanted to deck him, she'd charge… but the one time it was an accident made her feel guilty.**__ "Yeah, well I didn't know you had fists made out of lightening, Rocky", he teased. "And I meant the second time. You get me?"_

_She frowned. "Yeah", Letty muttered reluctantly. "Okay."_

_He stared her down. "Let, you good?"_

_She rolled her shoulders, ridding herself of some of the growing tension. "Yeah", she nodded and took her fighting stance._

_He held his right hand up. "Aim here."_

"_Pay attention, Mia", Letty grumbled. "We're only doing this once."_

"_You shouldn't do this at __**all**__", Mia repeated._

"_Ready?"_

_Dom nodded. "Come on."_

_Letty nodded and threw her punch, ignoring Mia's squeal of surprise._

_Since her punch hadn't connected with anything, which had been the plan, Dom's left arm caught her around the waist keeping her from stumbling. His right hand had a firm grip on the fist she had swung at him, and twisted it behind her, forcing her back against his chest._

"_See? I can duck", he said softly against her ear._

_She snorted. "Gonna let me go, or am I gonna have to play dirty?"_

_He grinned, letting his mouth brush the back of her neck, "Thanks, babe."_

_Her eyes fluttered closed for half a second before she groaned in annoyance as he let her go, pushing herself away from him. __**He was a goddamn tease. Ever since she'd gotten accidentally turned on while he was giving her a foot rub, he was finding all kinds of new ways to be in her personal space… including joining her in the shower.**__ "Yeah, yeah", Letty hissed. "I'm calling for pizza for dinner", she called, running back into the house, trying to bury the anxious feeling in her stomach._

_00_

"Dom, we gotta go!" Letty called, running a hand through her hair. "What're you doing? Stylin' your hair?"

"You're funny", he retorted mildly as he joined her in the kitchen. "Let's put your ass in the comedy club."

She grinned. "If your mom yells at us for being late, I'm blaming you."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "We can't all fall out of bed looking as gorgeous as you."

"Flatterer", she laughed.

"Do you have everything?"

Letty raised an eyebrow at the second bag he'd dropped next to her purse and the beach bag at her feet that had his swimming trunks, her bikini, and tanning oil. "Are we moving?"

"I grabbed some clothes and stuff. Are you planning on being sober to drive home tonight?"

Her eyebrows scrunched, "Probably not."

"Yeah, me either."

She shrugged, crouching down and poking through the bag, finding clothes, her hairbrush, small makeup bag and their toothbrushes and tooth paste. "Cool. Then I'll drive." She shuffled into a pair of red, jeweled flip-flops that matched her red tank top, and checked the pockets of her dark wash jean shorts for her phone and slipped it into her purse.

Dom reached for her keys on the counter and tossed them to her. "Let's go. You're gonna make us late."

She stared incredulously. "Oh, come _on_."

He smirked and picked up the two bags as she shouldered her purse. "I'm just messing with you."

"You're a funny guy", she murmured, voice dripping with playful sarcasm as they headed out the door. "Don't forget to grab your sunglasses from your car", she reminded as he turned the key to lock the deadbolt.

00

Letty punched in the security code at the front gate and pulled down the long winding driveway of the Guerera estate.

"Is it strange how much I love this place?" she mused as she parked in the circular area of the driveway near the fountain.

"Sure. Wanna ask if we can move in?" Dominic smirked.

She flashed a teasing grin as they got out of the car and grabbed their bags, "Yeah, right."

Theresa opened the door when they rang the doorbell. "Come in, come in. I don't know why you didn't just let yourselves in-" She pulled them into the foyer as they took off their sunglasses to adjust to the light difference. She gave them quick hugs and kisses on the cheek which made Letty stifle a laugh.

Letty looked up as Dom's hand slid across her lower back, and he passed her beach tote bag to her. "Take this. I'll go put our bag in the bedroom."

Letty nodded, and he headed upstairs while Theresa looped an arm through hers, calling after her son, "We're on the back patio, Dominic."

He gave her a thumb's up gesture as he disappeared.

Letty dropped her bag and purse in a barstool in the kitchen as Theresa led her out the glass patio doors.

"How's Mike doing?"

Theresa smirked. "Good… pissed off he's not supposed to drink."

"Bummer", Letty shook her head.

"No kidding", Mike called over his shoulder before standing from his cushioned patio chair. "Hey, Letty."

Mike Guerera was a large muscular man who stood a few inches taller than Dominic. Letty felt extra tiny standing next to him sometimes. He had an authoritative presence that seemed to make him bigger. But Letty had known the man for many years, and despite his imposing demeanor, he was a good man.

He treated Theresa well, and he respected her relationship with her kids. And he'd made nice with _her_ father – which had been no small feat.

So she went to give him a hug, getting a bear hug in return. "Nice to see you back home", she said seriously, patting his shoulder.

"The food is definitely better", he nodded.

Theresa laughed and blew him a kiss.

"Well, you look better conscious", Letty murmured. "You had us worried for a bit."

He tightened the arm around her shoulder slightly. "Thanks. You kids all stepped up this week."

She shook her head. "Taking care of family… it's what we do."

Dominic stepped out onto the patio then, greeting Mike with a handshake.

0

Half an hour later, Letty was leaning on her elbows on the marble kitchen counter, picking through the large bowl of mixed fruit, currently searching for more purple grapes and honey dew melon when Dominic stepped through the open glass patio door and pressed himself behind her.

She held a strawberry over her shoulder, "Fruit?"

"I'd rather taste you", he murmured against the back of her neck.

She gasped softly as he turned her around and hoisted her onto the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist, leaning back on one hand, the other arm curled around his neck as he licked at her lips.

Her mouth opened with a whimper as his hands roamed her body playfully.

"Ay, Dios mio", Theresa muttered as she entered the house. "Are you two ever going to stop pawing at each other?"

Dom glanced up at her over Letty's shoulder with a smirk. "I sure hope not."

Letty laughed silently, shoulders shaking.

"In any case, don't be doing that on my counters", she scolded, "And not near the food!"

Letty peered over her shoulder, doing a poor job of hiding her grin. "Sorry, T."

Theresa snorted. "No, you're not. Clearly idle hands get the two of you in trouble."

"My hands weren't exactly idle, Ma", Dom teased.

Letty smacked his shoulder, looking at him incredulously, "Really, Dom?"

Theresa rolled her eyes heavenward with fond exasperation. "Dominic, have you spoken to your sister?"

"Mia texted me earlier. She'll be here by two-thirty", he shrugged.

"I'll make sure to thank her for informing me", Theresa said mildly and headed to the pantry. She came back with a glass pitcher and set it on the counter. "Make some Mojitos, please. And stop fornicating near the fruit."

Letty snickered and hopped off the counter. "Yes ma'am."

They heard the front door open and then close with a heavy thud before heels clacked purposefully towards the kitchen.

"Anyone in here?" Alexis called curiously.

"Ah, mi querida", Theresa smiled. "Your father was wondering when you would show up."

"Having a hard time keeping him from the bourbon?" Alexis teased, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head, pushing her bangs out of her face.

"Yes", Theresa shook her head as she gave her step-daughter a quick hug. "Remind him his medication doesn't go with alcohol, would you?"

Alexis rolled her eyes. "We Latinos are a stubborn lot. I'll do what I can. He's outside?"

"Feeling like chopped liver here", Letty teased.

Alexis smirked. "Sorry. Hi, Let."

"Yeah, yeah", she waved her off and got an arm slung around her neck for her trouble as Alexis gave Dom a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Smothered in estrogen, playing in the kitchen, aren't you?" she tilted her head.

"Sounds like you're kicking me out", Dom raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't dream of it", Alexis said mildly.

"Mhm", he hummed teasingly.

"Theresa, you left Mike alone with the alcohol", Letty reminded, a bit amused.

"Ah, shit", she muttered. "This is your fault", Theresa pointed between Dom and Letty as she backed towards the door. "No more making out on the counters."

The glass door was pulled shut, but the window near the patio was open, and they heard Theresa yelling in Spanish at her husband good-naturedly, and apparently confiscating his unapproved beverage.

"I knew it", Alexis laughed. "It was the third thing he said when he woke up. 'Where's my bourbon?'" she deepened her voice in a fairly decent impression of her father's voice.

"He's gonna have to lay off for at least six weeks while he's taking that medication", Dom said seriously.

"He'll do it. But he's gonna drive your mother crazy before this is all over", she predicted.

Letty smirked. "I dunno. Theresa's a hard-ass, man. I wouldn't cross her."

"I'll drink to that", Alexis conceded. "Where the hell are the drinks?"

"We're supposed to make Mojitos", Letty flicked her finger at the glass pitcher.

"Alright then", Alexis nodded, heading for the liquor cabinet and pulling out the white rum. "Let's get this done. I want some tan lines before this day is over. Somebody get the club soda from the fridge."

"I'm going to leave you to it", Dom shook his head. "Where's the beer I left here?"

"Basement fridge", Alexis called as he rounded the corner.

"Got it. And go light on the rum! I'm not going to haul your drunken asses around later."

"Yeah, right!" Letty laughed. "And you'd haul my ass anywhere, so don't lie!"

"Save some for Mia", he countered, voice echoing form the basement staircase.

"We'll be on the second batch by then", Alexis chuckled as she went to the fridge for a few limes. "And I've seen your boy _embarrassingly _drunk on several occasions, so he doesn't have room to talk", she smirked at Letty.

Letty threw a hand towel at her. "You shut up!" Letty hissed. "I lied my ass off about that night. He doesn't know it happened!"

Alexis snorted, "Seriously?"

"You think I'd ever get him to take me out again if he knew I let him drunk sing at a karaoke bar?" she smirked.

Alexis doubled over at the counter, face buried in her hands as she tried to stifle her laughter, "My god."

"What's so funny?" Dom asked suspiciously, walking back into the kitchen with his case of Corona.

Letty schooled her features quickly and turned to face him as he pulled out a bottle and made room in the fridge for his beer. "Nothing you need to worry about", she teased.

"You're lying through your teeth", he eyed her shrewdly.

"But I love you", she grinned.

"You two", he shook his head, "Stay out of trouble."

"Eh, don't worry. We'll be out in a minute."

"Make it a quick minute", he said before he headed back outside.

"Ooh, bossy", Alexis smirked a Letty. "Bet you like that, huh?"

Letty reached over and yanked at her hair playfully. "Quiet, brat."

"I ain't hearing you say no", she laughed, side-stepping around the counter.

Letty just smirked and finished mixing their drink.

00

**A/N: Okay, so I decided to split this into two chapters, otherwise I'd have to ignore a few things that are important – and nobody wants that. And it was getting way too long. Good news is that you get this faster, and the next chapter is nearly finished and should only take another day or two to finish.**

**One more thing…**

**Guest reviews are permitted, but seriously, how do you expect me to answer any of your questions when I can't reply? If you didn't **_**know**_**, 'guest reviewers' can't be replied to, now you do.**

**That being said, she flashback from the previous chapter **_**was not**_** in line with the normal flashback timeline. But it did match up with the 'current time' situation in the chapter, so it was used as necessary. Sorry if it threw any of you off.**

**The link for the mansion is on the top of my profile page!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter**__** 10**_

"¿Mia, dónde has estado?" Theresa demanded as Mia stepped onto the back patio, Jack following after her with a red Frisbee in his mouth.

"I had some things to do", Mia rolled her eyes. "Dom, didn't you tell her I texted you?" she asked with a bit of annoyance.

"I did."

"After we'd been here for nearly an hour", Letty smirked, reaching a fist over her head for Mia to bump her knuckles. "'Sup, girl."

Mia leaned down to hug her around the neck from behind. "You love me, right?" she asked.

"What do you want?" Letty chuckled.

"Can I come over tomorrow night and borrow a pair of your boots?"

Letty tipped her head back against the cushion of the chair. "You hear yourself, right? You want to raid _my_ closet?"

"You have more shoes than I do!"

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Let!"

"Poor broke college girl", Letty teased.

"I really am", she grumbled.

"Yeah, girl", Letty nodded at her. "And now I know what to get you for Christmas", she laughed. "Pour yourself a drink and chill. Dom's guarding the drinks from us", she made a face.

"That's your fourth one in two hours. Keep going like that and you'll be unconscious before dinner", Dominic rolled his eyes.

"Anyone else want to go for a swim?" Alexis asked walking through the backyard after changing into her bikini in the pool house and up the stone steps.

"I could cool off", Letty shrugged.

Alexis eyed Mia curiously. "Hi."

"We don't have to hug", Mia smirked as she reached over Dom's shoulder for the half empty pitcher.

"Oh, good", Alexis chuckled.

They'd never really _had_ to like each other growing up, and while they'd been grudgingly polite when their respective parents had demanded it, they'd also been silently resentful of each other. Whatever their relationship might be evolving into had to be worked at slowly. When they'd first met, Mia had never met anyone who hadn't liked her, and she hadn't handled it well.

And Alexis… hadn't wanted another sister.

Or a new family for that matter.

After she'd turned eighteen, Alexis had gotten a small pair of white angel wings with light blue tips tattooed on the inside of her right ankle with Marissa's birth date scribed underneath. They'd only been two years apart, and Marissa had been six when she'd died. And if Alexis admitted it, she missed being a big sister.

Mia leaned against the bar counter next to her brother, sipping at her drink.

Dominic raised an eyebrow and brushed his thumb over her bruised knuckles. "What'd you do?"

She smirked slightly. "Only what you taught me."

"I got a body to clean up?"

She shook her head. "You might have to listen to a cry baby with a black eye though."

"That's my girl", he grinned lazily. Then he cocked his head sideways. "Don't tell Mom."

She laughed. "Alright, I'm going for a swim. Letty, are you going to change?"

"I-"

"Actually", Mike interrupted casually, "Letty, I was hoping to speak with you about something before everyone but me gets drunk."

Letty laughed lightly. "Ah, but I'm more amicable when I'm tipsy." She glanced over at Mia and they traded a shrug. "Looks like I'll catch up with you later."

"I'm going to catch some sun." Theresa vacated her chair next to her husband gracefully, grabbing a wide-brimmed, white sun hat with a black ribbon from a shelf behind the bar. "Dominic, I'd like to start cooking around four, if you could take have the grill ready around then."

He nodded. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you." She patted his cheek affectionately and headed down the steps and followed the path to the pool area.

Dominic hadn't moved, making it blatantly – and unnecessarily apparent – that he was playing guard dog.

Letty moved to take the bar stool near Dominic, crossing her legs casually. "Alright, hit me."

"I have a proposition for you."

A quick glance at her fiancé told her he was not surprised.

"You knew about this."

Dom shrugged. "I told him he could ask you. And I said I'd advise you the same way I have about all our business deals. Get a contract that our lawyers agree is sound."

Letty turned to Mike appraisingly. "My bar is clean", she said seriously. "I intend to keep it that way."

The man shook his head, a bit amused. "I have a potential job for you, if you want to take it. And you have my word that every part of this has been done legally."

"That's so unusual, I'm intrigued", she narrowed her eyes curiously.

"I've recently purchased a set of office buildings. They're structurally sound, but they are in need of not only updating, but need to be refurbished completely."

"I'm not an interior decorator", she said flatly.

"You designed the floor plan of your bar. And I saw that place when you bought it. It was two steps away from being torn down."

"Why not ask a professional to handle this?"

"You are a professional. Besides, I've spoken to several other people in the last few months. None have been satisfactory. You have a degree from Pasadena, don't you?"

"Yes, but that was for graphic design", she argued. "That's completely different."

"It's just a different use of the skills you already have. I thought you liked a challenge", Mike cocked an eyebrow.

"_Dammit_", she hissed under her breath, knowing she was probably going to agree to this crazy scheme. "Dom?" she tipped her head curiously. "Do you have an opinion about this?"

"Your project, if you want it", he said mildly.

Letty groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Before I agree to this, I need three things first."

"Go on."

"I'll want to look through all the paperwork. I need a walk-through of the buildings. I intend to bring in another building inspector to check things out. And I choose the contractor."

"That's four things."

She shrugged. "I won't need a contractor if you don't agree to the first three."

"You're not going to ask what I'm going to pay you?" he mused.

"How much do you think I'm worth?" she countered evenly.

He nodded. "Do some research. Take a look at the going rates, and get back to me. We'll go from there. And I'll work up a tentative budget for you after we go agree on the floor plans."

"When are you cleared to go back to work?"

"Wednesday, if I promise not to get excited about anything", he rolled his eyes.

"I'll come in that morning."

"Bring your lawyers. We'll work out your contract."

"Why me?" she asked seriously.

"You made a name for yourself without any help. I know you understand the value of money and hard work. That's more than I can say for most people."

She sighed. "Tentatively… I guess we have a deal."

0

It was after ten that night, and Theresa and Mike had retired for the night, leaving their kids to their own devices.

Mia had thoroughly exhausted Jack between several games of Frisbee and all the running he'd done on the grounds, and he was lying on a blanket on one of the poolside reclining chairs while the rest of them relaxed in the pool.

"So, what's the deal?" Alexis asked lazily from where she was leaning back against the edge of the in-ground pool. "Why am I swimming in a sea of ink virgins?"

Mia snorted from her floating chair she was using because she was using the cup holder for her drink. "One- this… this is a pool", she waved a hand drunkenly to their surroundings. Letty buried a laugh as she let one leg dangle into the water while she stretched across a blue foam raft. "And second… I have no desire to have a needle grinding into my skin. I went with Vince to get one of his tattoos, and I nearly passed out."

Dominic looked between Mia and Letty, leaning against the opposite side of the shallow end of the pool. "Why does Vince keep taking you two to tattoo parlors?"

"You'd have to ask him", Mia muttered.

"What about you two?" Alexis raised an eyebrow.

Dom smirked. "Letty's got a black gecko with green spots tattooed on her ass."

Letty groaned. "Not my fault. V dared me. He called me a chicken."

Mia sat up tipsily, cursing as she nearly fell out of the chair. "What? How come I've never seen it?"

"Because you're not the Toretto that takes my pants off!" Letty retorted.

That got a laugh, and she flicked them all off.

"You guys all suck", Letty grumbled with a smirk.

0

Late that night, in what had been claimed as 'their' room of the years, Letty was pulling Dom into the connected bathroom that had a large hot tub that she had filled while he'd been setting the security grid for their floor.

"Come on", she murmured, stepping over the side and into the steaming water.

She perched on one of the small seats as he followed her, making himself comfortable before pulling her legs across his lap. A low moan escaped her mouth when his thumbs pressed into the sole of her foot.

They relaxed silently for a bit, Letty fiddled with her small control panel and sighed as the jets in her seat pulsed against her lower back.

"So?" she prompted curiously as he slid his hand up her opposite leg. "You don't mind Mike asking me to work for him?"

"If it's legal, that's your business, Let. If you want to do it, go ahead… if not, you can say no", he shrugged.

"Hmm", Letty hummed with a frown, silently annoyed. _Now wasn't the time to get into the hypocrisy of that statement…_ "You wanting to come with me Wednesday?" she wondered.

"Nah, unless you want me to. Go do your thing."

"Yeah, okay", she nodded finally.

Dom pulled her through the water, turning her to sit on his lap. She leaned against his chest, head tipping back, moaning as he sucked on her neck. One arm curled around her hips, holding her in place, and she felt the tips of his fingers from his free hand drag gently over the front of her body before sliding back up to play with her nipples as she pressed her lips lazily across his shoulders and chest.

She shifted against his hard-on as he moved to untie her bikini top, letting it drop into the water. He turned her around gently, taking the tender flesh into his mouth. Letty wrapped an arm around his neck while he tugged her bottoms over her hips.

He lifted her up by the back of her thighs and set her on the ceramic edge, and freed her legs completely before pushing them open.

"Fuck", she muttered.

"We'll get there", he teased.

"You're spoiling me", she accused mildly.

He grinned and sucked on her bottom lip. "So?"

"So what?" she muttered dazedly.

He laughed. "Still a little drunk, huh?"

She laughed softly, "_Maybe_ just a bit."

Letty held onto his shoulders as his mouth traveled down her body, over her collar bone, between her breasts, and her stomach before pausing to suck gently at her right hipbone.

"_Shit_", she gasped. "Dom, c'mon-"

"Want something?" he teased roughly, shifting to kneel in front of her, hands sliding under her knees, lifting her legs to rest her feet on the edge.

She leaned into the corner he had set her in, shoulders brushing the walls behind her. "_Papi_, don't tease me", she whimpered.

He pressed a finger into her slick heat, pulling back out with a slow drag. She pushed herself up slightly, and his hands slid underneath her, holding her to his mouth as he licked at her swollen flesh.

Her moans echoed in the bathroom as he tormented her with his tongue. She rubbed the back of his head and neck with one hand while the other played at her nipples. His fingers pressed into her thighs when he finally pushed her over the edge, holding her open and lapping at her gently until she slid a hand down to cover herself.

She returned his kiss, a little uncoordinated and out of breath, shocks still running through her nervous system.

He had removed his swimming trunks by the time her feet finally made their way back into the water, and she found herself straddling his lap on one of the low seats. He lowered her onto him gently as the water rinsed away the slickness of her release. Her forehead pressed against his neck, panting against his skin as she rocked against him in a slow, circular motion. Her body rested fully against his; her breasts pressed against his firm chest.

His arms were wrapped around her back, holding her to him, keeping their movement slow and intimate. He groaned as she squeezed herself around him, her fingertips dragging over his abs roughly.

They moved lazily for several more minutes, heat and tension building between them before they sped up, chasing each other to their orgasms.

Dom and Letty relaxed together for a while before they finally got out of the hot tub, drying off and crawling under the covers of the king-sized bed.

00

**A/N: Well, this is going to be interesting… What did you think of their family get-together? Let me know.**

**And for the record, I'm not one for drama in my stories… but the next chapter… kind of exploded on me. The end of it may lead somewhere… interesting, and it was not something I had anticipated at **_**all**_**.**

**So, we'll see how this goes…**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Stacee13 was the hundredth reviewer for this story, so yay! I'm so thrilled you are all enjoying this! You've all been wonderful. I'm not quite sure how this is going to end… I'm toying with a few ideas, but no worries. We have a ways to go yet. I'm estimating twenty or thirty chapters at the most… We'll see what happens though.**

_**Chapter 11**_

"So, Sal's coming into town next month", Dominic said carefully from behind the driver's seat of Letty's sports car. They were on their way home from the Guerera estate after breakfast that morning – and she had threatened him not to scratch her custom paint job.

She nodded. "Yeah, I have to call him."

"For?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. _Letty didn't usually just volunteer to call her father._

Letty sighed. "To let him know we decided on a date for the wedding. I'm pretty sure up to this point he thinks we've been kidding. And if I don't, Theresa said she'd just start sending him bills."

Dom smirked, a bit amused at his mother's blackmail. "I've got a question for you… and I want you to think about it before you say no, alright?"

"Okay…" she said warily.

"I think you should consider inviting your mom to the wedding."

"That wasn't a question", she said after a minute.

"Look, Let, I know your mom hasn't always been-" he paused.

"Sober?" Letty said calmly.

"When's the last time you spoke to her?" he asked quietly.

"About six weeks ago", she shrugged. "According to- well, the theory is that she's going to meetings and hasn't relapsed this year."

"You don't believe it?"

"It's not that. I just haven't seen for myself."

"But that's what she told you?"

"No."

He glanced at her. "Is this one of those times I should pull over to finish this conversation?"

She laughed roughly. "I don't think so", she shrugged.

"Then what's going on?"

She waved her hand nonchalantly. "It's nothing. I just have somebody check on her once in a while. I'm just trying to make sure she's alright."

"That's-" he shook his head. "Let, you could have told me that."

"You're right; I should have", she shrugged. "It wasn't a secret, really… it just never came up."

He frowned, but seemed to just take the information for what it was. And she was grateful. Because she wasn't looking forward to explaining the _'who'_ that she paid to handle her personal business, that Dominic would insist should have been _his _business all along.

"If she's doing well- she's still your mom. She should be at your wedding", Dom said after a minute.

"Even if-" Letty groaned. "Dom, even if I wanted her there, I'd still have to ask Sal. And that alone pisses me off."

"Enough that you won't?"

"I don't know."

"Let-"

"What do you want me to say to him, Dom? 'I'm inviting your recovering alcoholic wife to my wedding. Will you please watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't go swimming in the champagne fountain?' Because _that_ would go over really fucking well, I'm sure."

"We're having a champagne fountain?" he raised an eyebrow.

She sighed irritably, "_Christ."_

0

Her phone call with her father lasted nearly half an hour, and it hadn't put her in a better mood than she'd been in when she had reluctantly made the call to begin with.

Sal didn't bargain, not even with his daughter, and on the rare occasion he gave her what she wanted, it came with conditions...

Letty was irritated – and frankly insulted – by the conversation she'd just had.

_She always kept her word._

His parting remark of, 'Don't forget our agreement', had left her steaming.

She set her phone on the glass table top, rubbing her forehead in frustration before glaring at her phone. "How could I forget?" she muttered under her breath. "You remind me every time we talk."  
She glanced through the closed glass door. Dominic was still going over some paperwork at the kitchen table - he always gave her privacy when she spoke with her father.

Dom didn't pretend to begin to understand their relationship, but it was more complicated than he could ever know.

She had a few days before she needed to deal with her end in her father's business, and she wanted to forget for just a little while…

She got up and went back inside.

Letty fiddled with the stereo before Latin music played through the surround sound. "Take a break", she said tersely.

"Seriously, Letty? I'm working."

"It takes two to tango, Dominic", she called over the music as she swayed her hips to the beat.

He watched her, half amused, and slightly aroused. Dom sighed and stood up. "Alright, Let. I'll play your game."

"Knew you would", she smirked. "I don't know why you bother playing hard to get sometimes."

He fitted himself behind her, hands on her hips. "Maybe I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine", Dominic muttered against the back of her neck, one hand creeping down to unzip her shorts. "You want to tell me what happened this time?"

"Nothing happened", she hissed breathlessly, eyes slamming shut as he plunged two fingers in and out of her roughly, grinding himself against her backside.

"Your 'nothing' is happening with an increasing frequency", he growled. "'Nothing' isn't why I'm about to fuck you on the pool table."

"You talk a hell of a lot for a guy about to get laid", she taunted breathlessly.

He pulled his fingers free from her, cupping her teasingly, keeping her from her release. "I should make you tell me", he mused.

"Don't even think about it", she growled.

Dom disappeared from behind her, and she twisted around with a complaint on her lips before she saw him grab a throw pillow from the couch.

_Right_, she thought hazily. _Bending over the edge of a pool table was un-fucking-comfortable._

Letty unzipped her shorts, and he tugged them off for her with her underwear. She tucked the pillow between her hips and the edge of the pool table as she bent over, hearing him unzip his pants behind her.

He slapped the insides of her thighs gently, and she shifted her legs open further to make more room for him as he rubbed the tip of his length against her center.

She had her elbows tucked underneath her to keep her balance as he finally lifted her thighs as pressed himself inside her.

"Hold on", he warned before he began pounding into her roughly.

She gasped in surprise at the force he was using to drive into her body. "_Fuck!_"

0

When Mia came over and let herself in a few hours later, they were both sitting at the kitchen table going over bills like an old married couple.

00

Later that week:

Letty hated Wednesdays in general…They were almost never good to her. But this Wednesday in particular, was extra shitty.

She had taken a quick tour of Mike's newly purchased office buildings with one of his hired men before getting back in the family town car that actually had a _driver_ to go back to his actual office to sign the preliminary contract. After a bit of back and forth with the lawyers, she'd signed and been on her way to make a quick stop at the bar before meeting Dominic at the garage.

Letty never made it to the garage.

She punched in Vince's cell phone number on the pay phone, hoping he'd answer it while he was at the garage.

"_Yeah?"_

She sighed in relief. "V, I need you to come pick me up and take me to Sunset to get my car."

"Your car was towed to the impound lot", the man said from behind her.

"You towed my _car_? I swear to god, if there's so much as a scratch on it, I'm suing the whole department!"

"_Let, where the hell are you?" Vince asked suspiciously._

"Miss Ortiz, you're being released, but if you're going to make a scene, I can put you back in a holding cell."

Letty glared at the suited man's back. "County jail", she growled. "Don't tell Dom. Just get down here and pick me up."

"_Damn girl", he complained. "It's __**Wednesday**__."_

"I'm aware. Just get down here. I feel like this place is giving me lice."

"_I'll be there in fifteen", he sighed. "I better get a good story out of this."_

"Just… hurry up", she muttered before hanging up the phone roughly. Letty stood from the bench, barely reigning in her irritation. "Now where are you putting me?"

"You need to sign for your belongings", the man said blandly. "You can sit in the lobby or go outside and wait for your ride."

"Fine", she shook her head. "Gonna cuff me again?"

"No, you're technically no longer in our custody." He grabbed her elbow gently. "Come on."

Letty felt better one she slid her engagement ring back on her finger, and counted the money she had in her wallet. Her cell phone showed _seven_ missed calls from Dominic, but she couldn't deal with that right now.

She signed the paperwork and got the stub to pick up her car before walking straight out the front door and finding a bench to sit on near the corner.

It was only another five minutes or so before she saw Vince's car coming down the street. Letty headed to the sidewalk and got in quickly, barely shutting the door before he took off again.

"Drive me to the impound lot. I need to get my car out of there before it closes at five." Letty glanced at the dashboard clock.

_4:23._

_She'd wasted her whole fucking afternoon at the police station._

"You owe me a damn good explanation", Vince said seriously. "I'm already doing enough cloak and dagger shit with you."

She sighed. "Yeah, okay."

"Dom's been trying to call you all day."

"Jesus, I _know_!" she snapped, anger finally bubbling over. "I saw the missed calls, alright? I'm just gonna tell him I left my phone at the bar when I stopped there this morning."

"Letty-"

She groaned. "Not now, please. Just give me a few minutes."

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"_No._"

Vince drove silently to the impound lot, cursing internally. He had a feeling that Letty was going to get fucked one way or the other.

0

_Late that night:_

"How was work?"

Letty nearly dropped her keys at the sound of his voice. "Sorry I'm late. I figured you'd be sleeping already."

"How was work?" he repeated.

She raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Busy, like usual."

"Funny", he said evenly. "I stopped in around ten and was told you don't close on Wednesdays."

"That is funny", she answered carefully. "We've got some new girls in there... They don't all know what they're doing."

Her phone buzzed, and she was a bit alarmed that Vince was calling her.

"Yeah?"

"_Dom was at the bar tonight. Camille told him you didn't work Wednesday nights. Leon didn't know he was there or this shit would've been taken care of."_

"Thanks, yeah... Believe me. I got that", she muttered.

"_Let- you need me over there?" _he asked seriously.

"No, I'll take care of it."

"_If you tell him-"_

"I can't. It doesn't matter. Thanks for the update. I'll see you tomorrow. Tell Leon thanks."

"_You're firing Camille, aren't you?" he chuckled._

"You bet your ass I am", she growled before hanging up. _Goddammit, she could __**not**__ catch a break today._

Dominic was watching her intently, and it was making her nervous. She swallowed it and locked her emotions in a box. This would have to be handled very carefully.

"I left work early tonight", she shrugged. _Not a lie… she'd left the bar at six… half an hour after she'd gotten there._

"Where the hell have you been all night?"

_She was skilled in telling half-truths, but she didn't enjoy having to lie to Dom… even if it was only two nights a month._

"A few of Sal's friends were in town just for tonight. They called and whisked me off to a poker game. I couldn't exactly say no." She forced a laugh, and she pulled a wad of cash from her back pocket. "Joke's on them. I won five hundred bucks." _In another situation, she might be amused that she could wave part of her payment in his face and let it be her alibi._ Letty raised an eyebrow. "If I wasn't there when you came to see me tonight, you should have just called me."

"Okay, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't-" she held up a hand, and then shook her head. "No. I am. I should have called. But I didn't think I was going to be back this late. I should probably start wearing a watch, huh?" she said wryly.

His mouth twitched. "Maybe."

"Thanks for waiting up for me. You can go to bed though", she said quietly, pausing to slide an arm around his waist. "I need a shower. I smell like Cuban cigars."

He led her down the hall to their room where only the corner lamp was on, and she sat down on the edge of the bed to tug off her boots before standing and kicking them in the corner. She removed her jacket, laying it over the arm of the leather chair, and pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it in the hamper as she headed into the bathroom.

Dominic caught her wrist gently, pulling her back to him, tilting her chin up as he leaned down to kiss her. "Come to bed soon", he murmured.

She nodded and pulled away. Only when the bathroom door between them closed did she allow her knees to buckle, leaning against the door weakly.

_She was going to have to be more careful._

_Her life used to be easier._

_00_

_**Seven years ago:**_

_Letty groaned. "Come on. This movie sucks!"_

"_Not watching it for the stellar plot, Let", Dom shot her a lazy smirk._

"_Yeah, yeah. I know. Pamela Anderson's rack", she rolled her eyes scornfully._

"_You lost the coin toss, fair and square", he chuckled._

_Letty __**had**__ lost the coin toss, which was the only reason she was sitting through the viewing of '__**Barb Wire**__'._

_She pointed at the screen incredulously. "That! Seriously, how are her boobs not knocking her unconscious?"_

_Dominic snorted. __**He'd picked the movie because he knew it would irritate her.**_

_But she was leaning her back against his shoulder as she stretched out across the rest of the couch – pointedly keeping her ankles away from his wandering fingers – and grabbing the occasional handful of popcorn from the large bowl._

_Yes, the movie did actually suck. But he was a guy, so, you know… __**boobs.**_

_Ten minutes later, Letty groaned again, "Dom, seriously? Do we really have to watch this?"_

_He shot her a look. "Stop acting like I'm making you watch porn."_

"_Isn't that pretty much what that is?" she muttered sarcastically._

"_Ha-ha", he __quipped dryly._

_Five minutes later, Letty was stretching her left arm backwards, discreetly reaching for the remote on the arm of the couch. Dominic caught her offending wrist and tugged, pulling her back until she was lying across his lap._

"_Sneaky, are we?" he peered down at her._

_She groaned and tried to jerk her arm from his grip. "Let me up."_

_He chuckled, catching her other arm as she tried to get a grip on the back of the couch, and pinned both of her hands over her head. "No, I don't think so. I kind of like you like this."_

"_Don't get any ideas", she growled._

_He loosened his hold slightly, but she didn't pull away, and he settled his free hand against her side. "Or you could play nice for once", he suggested mildly._

"_You think I want to play with you?" she cocked a skeptical eyebrow, trying to stay detached even as her skin flushed._

"_Don't you?"_

_She huffed, pressing her feet into the couch cushions so she could shift back and sit up. He left go of her wrists and wrapped a hand behind her neck, pulling her closer. She met his eyes warily as he nudged her chin up slightly, and leaned towards him involuntarily._

_His nose brushed her cheek, and her eyes fluttered shut. His mouth grazed hers softly and she found herself moving over him, on her knees straddling his lap._

_His hands were curled around her ribcage gently as his mouth teased hers. She cried out softly against his mouth at the literal zing of arousal shooting around in her stomach like wayward fireworks._

_Letty pressed herself down against him slowly, making him groan._

_Dom's hands slid to her hips, fingers gripping her, and controlling her movements._

_She felt dizzy, her eyes heavy-lidded with pleasure as they rocked against each other forcefully._

_Things heated up quickly after that._

_Her jeans had been unzipped, and her tank top was already on the floor along with his own that she had pawed off so quickly he had teased her._

_His hand slid over her stomach deliberately, giving her fair warning, but she didn't pull away from his touch as he slipped his hand down the front of her black cotton underwear. He found her clit easily, finger rubbing it gently._

_She bucked her hips against his touch, a whimper falling for her lips. "Dom-"_

_Dominic chuckled softly. "You gonna think about this the next time you touch yourself, baby?" he murmured._

_Her head dropped forward to rest on his collarbone. "A little personal, don't ya think?" she grumbled._

_He snorted, "More personal than me fingering you?"_

"_**Yes**__", she hissed as he slipped a finger inside her._

"_Shouldn't fool around if you can talk about it", he said, mouth trailing over her heated skin above her breasts._

"_Don't ruin it for me. My fantasies are happy to stay in my head", she muttered._

_His free hand stroked through her hair, pulling her closer. "Okay. Relax, alright. Want you to come for me."_

_Her hands gripped the back of the couch on either side of his head._

_His left arm wrapped around her back as two fingers pumped inside her, thumb rubbing intermittent pressure over her clit._

_Letty ground herself against his hand, all thoughts left her mind, and she could only immerse herself in his touch._

_She cried out in surprise at the strength of her orgasm as finally it washed over her, leaving her whole body shaking. She whimpered his name as her internal muscles clenched around his fingers._

_Letty felt his left hand distantly as he rubbed the back of her neck gently. Her forehead pressed against the crook of his neck as she tried to put herself back together._

_He pulled his fingers from her body slowly, and it wasn't until he set both hands on her waist that she registered the feel of him hard underneath her again. She pulled back and tipped her head, looking between them curiously even though they were both still wearing jeans and his weren't even unzipped._

"_What're you planning to do with that?" she asked a bit teasingly._

_He looked down curiously; apparently blissed enough on her reaction to his touch he'd nearly forgotten his current issue. "Oh", he murmured, a bit amused. "I'll take care of it."_

"_Or you could let me-"_

"_We both know you're not ready for sex, Let", he said, squeezing her waist gently._

"_That's not- I know", she conceded. "But- I want to make you come too."_

_Dom raised an eyebrow, not saying a word._

_Letty groaned, "Dammit, Dom. That was two years ago!"_

_He smirked._

_0_

_**Two years ago Letty had been fifteen. Dom was eighteen at the time, and one afternoon she had managed to stumble into his room without knocking, intent on asking a question about ordering a part for one of the cars that they were working on and Theresa was gone for the day.**_

_**The door hadn't been latched, and she had walked right in to catch him right after getting out of the shower... towel decidedly not wrapped around his waist.**_

_**Her eyes had zeroed in on his penis for half a second before she flushed bright red, covering eyes and backing out of the room. To make things worse, as she'd slammed his bedroom door, she'd yelled 'put that thing away!'**_

_**His loud laugh at her overreaction had sent her fleeing from the house, probably more embarrassed than she'd ever been in her life. Letty hadn't been able to look directly at him for nearly a month.**_

_0_

_She rolled her hips against his gently. "Please."_

_He groaned. "You're gonna kill me."_

"_Dom", she murmured. "Want you to come for me, papi."_

_He stilled her hips that were rocking against him tantalizingly. "Okay", he hissed. "But- upstairs, okay?"_

_She nodded jerkily as he stood, holding her in his arms to carry her upstairs. Letty gasped softly as he picked her up. __**Apparently she was no longer desensitized to the strength of his body. It had been so long since they'd been this pressed against each other that it was now turning her into a mass of girly mush. It had only been a year or two since they'd physically fought over the remote… or worse, the all-out WWE matches they'd had trying to fight over who'd get the worst chores.**_

_**Theresa had mostly ignored the minimal destruction they put her living room through because they always straightened up when they were done… until she'd walked in on Dom practically body-slamming Letty onto the couch. And even though Letty had been laughing her ass off, and had made sure Dominic had fallen as well, Theresa had put a stop to it by writing out a chore wheel.**_

_**And it had more or less turned into, 'you get what you get; and tough shit'.**_

_He laid her on his bed gently and unzipped his jeans, taking them off before crawling over her._

"_No sex", he promised, thumb tracing her jaw-line gently. "Just gonna let you help me get off, okay? Make you feel good too."_

_Her head tipped back as she arched against him, and looked up at him seriously. "Hey- I trust you."_

_He leaned down to kiss her gently before sitting up and straddling her hips. He tugged at her jeans gently. "Just take those off."_

_She waited until he got off of her to shimmy out of her pants, watching discreetly as he did the same, and they were both down to their underwear. Dom lay back down on top of her, making room for himself between her legs. She gasped at the closeness as he fitted himself against her __**right there**__._

"_You okay?"_

"_Yeah", she managed roughly. "It's good. Do something, dammit!"_

_He chuckled, sliding both hands under her, cupping her backside to hold her against him. Her back arched, and she began rocking into his rhythm as he moved._

_Small noises fell from her mouth as they rubbed against each other. Her fingertips traced over his chest and down his arms gently, mapping his body. He left one hand under her while shifting; a finger traced the cleavage spilling from her bra. "Let", he growled roughly._

_Her eyes refocused on his face trying to figure out what he wanted while he was still grinding against her like that. It took her a moment to register his hand was barely restrained from yanking her bra from her body._

"_Knew you liked my boobs, Toretto", she laughed hoarsely. Letty nodded. "Take it off."_

_Her bra was discarded quickly, and she moaned as his face rubbed against her bare skin possessively._

"_God, Dom", she hissed needily as his tongue flicked out, trailing across a hardened nipple._

"_Love how you sound when you let it go, Let", he purred against her skin._

_Letty's grip on his shoulders tightened slightly before she slid her hand up the side of his neck, fingers rubbing gently at his jaw line. Her thumb brushed against his ear lobe and he growled against her. She gasped as he ground into her roughly._

"_**Dominic**__", she groaned breathlessly as she felt him driving her towards the peak again, her legs locked around his waist. __**How he got her so hot and bothered, she would never understand.**_

_He pulled her closer to him to shove a pillow underneath her, keeping her hips angled against his, and giving his hands freedom to roam her body. His knuckles skimmed over her ribs gently before sliding his hands up to cup her breasts, pressing them together gently as he sucked at her nipples._

"_Oh, god-" she shifted underneath him, her fingers twisting the sheets. The friction between them plus his touch was absolutely maddening. Her blood felt like it was boiling under her skin. She rocked her hips upwards to meet his thrusting forcefully._

_He growled her name against her neck. "Come on."_

_It was less than a minute before they both felt their orgasms crash over them. Dom's mouth covered hers, swallowing her noises of pleasure before kissing her lazily, sucking erotically at her mouth as he ran a hand through her hair._

_He lingered for a few minutes, watching her with a mix of curious affection. He squeezed her hip gently. "Give me a few minutes. Stay?"_

_She nodded, stifling a laugh at the fact that he now had to go take a shower. "Yeah, okay."_

_He tapped her nose twice as he got off of her. "Not funny", he reprimanded, playfully stern._

_She chuckled and stretched languidly, rolling off the pillow she'd been lying on as he left for the bathroom._

_When he got back from his shower ten minutes later, she was already asleep on his bed. Dominic shifted her under the covers and slid in behind her._

_0_

_It was late the next morning when she woke up in his bed. Her face was buried in his pillow and she felt him leaning over her, mouth pressing warm kissed down her spine. She shifted slightly, sighing contentedly._

_He kissed her left shoulder. "You awake?"_

_She chuckled sleepily. "Mhm. Feels good."_

_He rolled her over gently, taking a minute to be amused by how relaxed she could be when she was just waking up in the morning. She shifted, pressing her body against his innocently as she stretched, attempting to wake up completely._

_He leaned back, sitting on his knees, studying her face. "You okay with what happened last night?"_

"_Probably wasn't the smartest thing we've done, but I'm not complaining", she shrugged._

"_What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked flatly._

_Letty sat up and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Come on, Dom", she murmured. "You don't exactly do girlfriends. And I- I don't sleep around. We don't have to make this into a thing. In fact, we probably shouldn't. You're like… my best friend, and we live __**alone**__ together. It shouldn't get more complicated than that."_

"_A little late for that, isn't it?" he asked tersely, getting off the bed completely to get dressed._

_Her eyes rolled and she wrapped the sheet around herself to hunt for her clothes. "What? You think I'm gonna just hang around and wait for you until you think you might want to stop playing the field for a bit? You know me better than to even think that. And I know you. I don't regret this, Dominic", Letty said, looking over at him seriously. "But it's not going to happen again."_

_Dom stared at her, studying her features intently. "We'll see", he said finally, tossing one of his t-shirts to her, realizing they'd left half their clothes downstairs._

_She sighed and pulled his shirt over her head._

"_I guess we will", she murmured softly._

00

**A/N: So… what is Letty up to? And why was she arrested? Things are not always what they appear to be… You'll find out more in the next chapter, I think.**

**And seriously, that flashback… Letty's trying to hit it and quit it – and Dom ain't playing her game. In the next flashback you'll see part of how they started getting it together.**

**We're going to finally meet Letty's father in a few more chapters… He'll be in town for a specific reason, and stay until Thanksgiving.**

**Let me know what you guys are thinking!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

_**Chapter 12**_

The next day, Letty forced herself out of bed early despite her late night and went to the garage. She settled herself in the office at the desk, glaring half-heartedly at the pile of paperwork Dom hadn't gotten to before turning on the computer, and went to poke at a few buttons on the coffee maker until it started working.

It was only seven o'clock, and Dom wouldn't come in to open the garage until at least eight, so she poured herself some coffee, put her hair up in a ponytail, and started filing and taking care of the bills.

It was seven-fifty when a car pulled up, and she was shocked that it was Vince. _V was more of a nine or nine-thirty arrival. He was probably just checking that she was still alive._

"Morning", he greeted tiredly from the doorway.

"Yeah", Letty gestured her pen at the coffee maker. "Get some caffeine, man."

"Penance in the form of paperwork?" Vince raised an eyebrow as he entered the office.

She shrugged. "It needs done."

"Yeah", he nodded, "You alright?"

"I've been worse."

"You've been better too", Vince sighed. "How much longer, Letty?"

"I'm working on it", she muttered.

"Where's Dom?"

She shrugged, "Hopefully sleeping in. I left him a note."

"I'm gonna open up, then run down the street and grab you some breakfast."

"I-"

"Coffee's not breakfast, Let", he rolled his eyes. "Give me fifteen minutes. If Dom's not here by then, keep an eye out for customers, alright?"

She shot him an annoyed look. "I know how to do my job."

"I'm just sayin'-"

"Say it to yourself", she muttered, hand flapping to the door, silently telling him to get out.

Twelve minutes later, Letty stopped working to go stick her head out of the office. "V?"

"Just a sec", he called from the back room. He appeared a minute later, and headed toward her. "What's up?"

"Dom texted me. He's on his way." She waved forty bucks at him. "Breakfast, please."

He snorted and grabbed it. "You're lucky I like you", Vince called over his shoulder as he walked away.

"You like me more than Dom, right?" she teased as he got to the door.

"You wish!"

"I want bacon with my pancakes!" she called.

She saw his middle finger before she turned and went to finish her self-appointed task. _Dom always left the paperwork until the last minute because he hated it. And then, of course, he had to deal with a foot-high stack of folders by the end of the week._

Letty was nearly halfway finished when Dominic got to the garage.

"Letty?"

"Office", she called back.

"There she is", he murmured.

The corners of her mouth crept upwards as a slow grin made its way across her mouth. She finished typing before she looked up. "Hi."

Dom crossed the office and planted one hand on the desk and the other on the arm of the chair to lean in to kiss her. "Hi", he teased gently. "You were up early this morning", he commented.

"Yeah, I was awake, so I figured I'd come get some stuff done."

"Didn't get much sleep", he observed.

"Nope", she shrugged. "Good thing too. Look at all this paperwork you left me", she gestured to the pile feigned irritation.

He smirked. "I woulda got to it."

"Yeah, yeah", she chuckled, and batted gently at his hands trailing down her waist. "Now let me finish with this file before Vince comes back with food. You know we can't get frisky near the keyboard. I don't want to be sending back another order of two hundred replacement spark plugs."

He laughed and kissed her shoulder before pulling away.

She made a noise of displeasure and grasped the bottom of his shirt. "Wait."

Letty stood up, arms looping around his neck, pulling him down to kiss his mouth heatedly.

His hands settled on her waist and he pulled back slightly. "What happened to not fooling around in front of the keyboard?"

She smirked, walking him backwards, pointing behind him. "That couch over there… is nowhere near the keyboard."

He sat on the couch, scooping her up and pulling her sideways into his lap. Her hands cupped his jaw, head tilting as they kissed lazily. _God, she loved this man more than anything…_

They progressed into an all-out make-out session, and she was debating how much time they had for a quickie when she heard Vince's car pull in again. Letty sighed as they turned down the heat between them, but she was still comfortably in his lap when Vince walked in.

"_Damn_, is there anywhere you two _won't_ get freaky?"

Letty tilted her head thoughtfully. "Uh… I really doubt it." She leaned to whisper a question in Dom's ear.

Dominic paused briefly and started laughing. "No, we did that."

Vince's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did what?"

Letty tried not to grin. "Trust me. You don't want to know." _Vince would kill them if he ever found out they had sex on the hood of his Mazda._

He glared at her and set a take-out bag with three boxes on the desk. Vince grabbed his box on the second try and headed out of the office. "I'm gonna, you know, pretend to work", he said as he left.

Letty rolled her eyes. _Subtle_, she thought sarcastically.

Dom raised an eyebrow. "What the hell was that?"

"You know we can't act domesticated in front of him while he's eating", she shrugged getting up and bringing back both containers. They opened them both and seconds later she was cutting her fluffy pancakes into bite-sized pieces and dipping them into the little container of syrup.

Dom just shook his head, but decided to leave it alone. _He never took sides between Vince and Letty._

By the time they'd finished breakfast, everyone else had arrived at the garage, and the day's work began.

Letty took another hour and a half to finish taking care of the paperwork, and then went to work with Leon who was cursing at a green Saturn.

00

_Three weeks later:_

Dominic groaned irritably as he let himself into the apartment. He was two hours late with a dead phone battery, on date night, no less. _Letty was going to kick his ass._

"Let?" he called through the seemingly empty apartment.

"In the bedroom", she answered calmly.

His eyebrow rose suspiciously. She didn't like not knowing where he was. Not because she was the suspicious or jealous type, but because the few instances he hadn't been where he was supposed to be and couldn't reach her, it was always in the midst of something bad happening… _Like three years ago when his car was nearly run off the road after a meeting went badly. Luckily he was the better driver compared to the one who had fishtailed him._

Letty handled things in stride – better than he did sometimes – but when things ended with him getting injured, she showed her teeth.

He headed down the hall, prepared to deal with the oncoming anger and frustration that would only ever be admitted to being fear sometime in the still-dark hours of early morning.

Dom wasn't wholly prepared for what he got instead, but he sure wouldn't complain.

She was sitting on the end of their bed, bare legs crossed and leaning back on her arms, long hair tousled and floating down her back.

He leaned his forearm against the doorjamb and looked her over appreciatively. "I'm late", he said curiously. "And we had dinner plans an hour ago."

Her mouth twitched. "Nico called me a while back. He said things didn't go as planned, and you were running a bit late."

Dom sighed, a bit relieved. "Tell me you're dressed like that because he's coming over and I'm going to spank you", he said evenly.

Letty smirked, standing and heading in his direction in her lacy, red lingerie and black velvet heels, knowing better than to call him on that threat. _She liked being able to sit, thank you very much._ "I cancelled our reservations and made a call for takeout from _Ninos_. It should be here soon. What happened tonight?"

He was momentarily distracted by her lack of clothing, eyeing her bra and matching lace thong hungrily. "Tomas pulled a gun on _Gino_."

Both her eyebrows shot up. _That was beyond not good._ "Heat's up in buyer/seller relations, huh?" Letty asked roughly.

"Seems that way", he agreed. "And nervous people get stupid."

She sighed softly, reaching her hand to settle gently on the side of his face. "You okay?"

"Better now." He turned his head slightly to kiss her palm. Her breath of relief didn't go unnoticed, and he pulled her in, tipping her head back for a gentle kiss. "Sorry I worried you."

"I'm just glad you're home."

The buzzer sounded, and they headed into the living room. Dom buzzed up the delivery guy, and Letty went to pull out beers and silverware.

"Damn, girl. What'd you do? Order half the menu?" he teased, moving to set three bags on the coffee table.

"I'm starving, and I figured you would be too. You know we'll finish all this up by tomorrow anyway", she answered easily, passing him one of her Coronas so she could dig through the bags.

Letty took a seat in the corner of the couch, pressing her back against the arm, one of the containers in hand. She crossed one leg underneath her, and the other stretched over his lap after he settled next to her.

"What'chu got over there?" Dom asked, peeking over at her container.

She swirled her linguini on her fork with a piece of shrimp and held it out. "Bite?" she chuckled.

He grinned slightly and let her feed him. "Thanks. How was your day?"

"Probably better than yours", she laughed.

"You went to the garage this morning to crack the whip, huh?"

"Yup. Everything's good. Leon's got everything on track. I told him we'd both probably be in Monday. Okay?"

He nodded. "Cool."

They finished eating and set the rest of the containers back on the coffee table before making each other more comfortable against each other. She dipped her head to suck at his neck.

His thumb was rubbing gentle circles over her knee, and she shifted next to him, mouth falling open slightly. He let his hand stroke up her thigh, and she held back on the instinct to pounce him.

"You went with Mia to the spa today?" he questioned, already knowing the answer, hands stroking her smooth legs rhythmically.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"You wet for me, baby?" he murmured, pulling her further into his lap.

Her head tilted to the side as he kissed her neck. "Fuck- Dominic-"

"Was there a yes in there somewhere?" he teased.

"Dom, _please_-" she was _so_ not above begging when she knew the outcome would be him pounding her into the mattress all night long.

He gave her another steamy kiss on the lips before pulling back, gesturing to the containers of food. "We've gotta put all of this away first."

She groaned irritably, "Tease."

They finished cleaning up in the kitchen before Dom scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom while she kissed his neck, laughing softly as one of her heels dropped to the floor. It didn't matter to either of them at this point, so she kicked off the other one once they both fell on the bed.  
He pulled his shirt off, tossing it towards the corner and shifted to lie between her legs. Her hands ran up and down his arms and over his shoulders as they attacked each other's mouths with ferocity. She tried to rub herself against him, but his weight held her in place.

His tongue snaked out across her cleavage and she groaned as he made his way slowly down her body. She panted erratically, her bare thighs rubbing against his sides as she squirmed underneath him as he licked around her navel.

"Dom-" Letty gasped, "_Hurry._"

He chuckled, peering up to eye her with amusement. "Uh-uh", he protested mildly. "You know the rules. It's date night, and it's not your turn."

Her head fell back as he licked at her through the lace. "Oh, god", she whimpered. "You're going to kill me."

"Nah, baby. I'm gonna take _real_ good care of you", he purred, nuzzling her playfully.

"You're going to pay for this", she protested weakly.

He grinned and snapped the strap of her thong gently. She shifted to let him pull it off. Dom nodded behind her. "Grab the headboard."

Seconds after she got a firm grip, she was writhing on the bed.

0

When she came back from whatever mindless place he'd sent her, he kissed her deeply, her arms winding around his neck. Dom pulled back finally. "Not done with you yet", he growled.

She rolled over underneath him, his hands directing her, only pausing for a brief second to get her bra off before he stretched out over top of her. One of his hands held hers above her head on the mattress, and she felt his lips against the skin behind her ear as she bent her knees slightly and he pressed himself into her. Her senses were on overload, brain buzzing from the effects of his touch.

He slipped an arm underneath her, holding her firmly against him and rolled them over so her body splayed out across his chest. Her feet planted on the bed, giving her leverage to rock against him slowly as his hands stroked firmly over her body.

His teeth grazed the side of her throat and she turned her head, opening her mouth under his, moaning as he licked into her mouth while she rode him slowly.

Letty knew he got off on making her lose her mind, knowing she would never be vulnerable like this in front of anyone but him. He was the only one who would ever have this part of her, and that translated into so many other things in their relationship. Sex wasn't always just because they couldn't keep their hands off each other; it reestablished and enforced the foundation of their relationship. The closeness they had ensured trust wouldn't be broken.

Once a month, sometimes twice, depending on their schedules, they had what they publicly called 'date night'. Most of the time they went out to dinner before going home and wrecking at least their bedroom - if not other parts if the apartment. _They had lost several lamps in the last year._

For them, date night wasn't a night they needed to make sure they spent time together. They already made their relationship a priority. Dom and Letty didn't fight often, but when they did, they did it effectively. Even with the way both of their tempers could flare, they usually communicated well, and had moved past the years of provoking each other for the sake of winning an argument.

'Date night' sometimes lasted through the following day, only concluding after they'd sufficiently aired out any issues their current life was giving them.

Several years back, before Dom had gotten very deeply involved in Mike's 'business' he'd promised her that if she ever wanted out for any reason, or didn't feel safe, they would disappear - no questions asked. And every once in a while, especially when messes stirred, he asked.

Aside from that, 'date night' was intense. Not that their sex life was ever bland any other - every - day of the week. But this night was always a bit more raw and intense. It was more about laying down a claim of ownership... possessing each other.

In the beginning of their relationship, they'd had to learn how to talk to each other. But when words failed them, touch hadn't, using their bodies to say what they couldn't vocalize.

That connection hadn't lessened. And they still used it every day in small doses, because being able to say what they felt was important. But while they were fairly open about how they related to each other, the way they understood one another on the inside was kept for times when they were alone.

They were both headstrong people who'd had to learn to be partners to be together.

And for Letty, who had never liked to be told to do anything, being able to trust Dominic the way she did... She knew that if there was ever a point that they doubted each other, they would break.

So the nights that he took over her body like this were in no way about him needing to be the one in control. They happened because he needed her to show her trust in him because it was the only way he could trust himself.

_She knew_. And those nights, he was giving himself to her too.

They could push the limits and challenge each other, but causing real pain, physical or emotional, had never been in the cards.

Letty never liked the idea of belonging to anyone, but she would give herself to him. And he gave her the things she still couldn't ask for without feeling weak. _And he belonged to her too._

She trusted him. And when he'd promised it would never be his choice to leave her, she knew he meant it. And they were both grateful for that.

They carried each other's darkest secrets and biggest fears. They'd gotten to know each other through pillow talk when they'd first started working on how to be together, and experience proved that they didn't do well when they didn't – or couldn't – talk to each other. It had been a long, hard process, but they'd eventually figured it out.

And now, 'date night' gave their emotions a safe time to come out if necessary.

_Letty was just wondering if she'd be able to get the mess she'd taken on cleared up before she had to tell Dom what was going on. Her father was coming to town in the beginning of November. At least that would save her from taking a trip to New York._

_Salvatore Morales had taught his daughter that what came out of a person's mouth was binding. She'd done what he'd asked of her, and her time on his payroll was almost over. She hoped he would do her the same courtesy and let her be done with it all._

_If not… L.A. might become a warzone._

Right now though, Letty was just happy that Dominic was home for the night.

00

**A/N: Wow! Okay, so chapter twelve is out quicker than I thought, and the next is nearly finished… We're really cranking along here. Lol. Thank you guys for all the reviews and comments! You guys are so awesome. Any questions or comments, leave a review or send me a PM. I'll get back to you!**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Life in the Empire**_

**Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.**

**Rated: M for content and language**

**A/N: **_**Very graphic chapter**_**! Seriously… just… I'm gonna go blush in the corner now… All the steaminess *gah***

_**Chapter 13**_

The next morning, they had breakfast on the balcony, Letty lying back in her chair comfortably with her feet legs stretched across his lap.

"Got a question for you", Dom mused, looking over at her.

She cocked an eyebrow, mouth tilting into a slight smile. "What's up?"

"We've got an anniversary coming up."

"How do you figure that?"

"December fifteenth, Let."

Understanding dawned, but she was curious about where he was going with this. Letty grinned. "I don't recall."

"Uh-huh", he deadpanned. "You remember almost a year ago when I tried to give you that ring you've got on your finger and you told me I was a dumbass?"

She laughed. "Oh, right, _that_."

"Yes, _that_."

"Do people even _have _year anniversaries for an engagement?"

"Most people have _weddings_, Leticia."

She glared. "Hey, we could have gotten married last year, _papi_. You're the one who wanted to 'get the family involved'. So we did… and now I've got your sister going all 'party planner G. I. Jane' on my ass. You're _welcome_."

"You done?"

She sighed. "Yes. What was your question?"

Dominic smirked at her and she bit back another groan, because he was about to make her do something.

"I think you should tell me how much you love me first", he said evenly. "And maybe mention that you're actually _excited_ to get married, even though we both know you don't want anyone else to know that."

Letty slipped out of her chair and straddled his lap in one fluid motion. His arms wrapped around her as she pressed kisses along his jaw line before getting to his mouth, her fingers tracing lazy circles on his chest. She sucked at his bottom lip gently before leaning to press her mouth against the skin just under his earlobe.

"I love you more than anything", she promised softly. "Everyone thinks once I walk down that aisle that I'll be yours… but they don't know you've had my heart since we met."

His hand slipped between them and rested against the left side of her chest. "We know." And he took her hand and rested it over his heart. "You've got mine too."

"Better", she murmured. Then she pulled back slightly. "_Still_ not writing my own wedding vows", she quipped.

He smiled gently, tilting her chin down towards his mouth, "Wouldn't ask you to. I love that you keep this stuff just for me."

She relaxed into his body, letting him hold her for a while before she heard him speak.

"So, December fifteenth… I was thinking we could use it as an excuse to get away from here for a few days. Maybe drive down the coast a ways. Because by this time next year, we'll be married already."

"Mini-vacation?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. Sound good to you?"

"Yeah, really good", she sighed, resting her forehead against his shoulder. _They needed to get away for a few days. And he'd given her enough warning that she could make it work…_

"Let-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off when her phone buzzed almost violently on the table behind her.

Letty pulled away to lean back and grab her phone, staying in his lap as she read the text.

"Your mother wants to take me to look at wedding invitations tomorrow morning", she groaned. "She's even bribing me with lunch."

Dom smirked, squeezing her thighs playfully. "Looks like you'll be late to the garage then, won't you, chica?"

"Crap", she grumbled. "I'd rather play on cars."

"Too bad. You finally let me catch you. Now we're just finishing what we started."

"If I had known back then that it would end in a wedding…" she threatened teasingly.

00

_The sexual tension had been building between them all summer - despite Letty's best efforts. And everything finally came to a head in the midst of the worst storm of the year in the second week of August._

_Letty was at the Toretto house by herself. She was finishing cooking dinner on the - thankfully - gas stove, while watching the sky anxiously. She could see the clouds rolling in, and the sky was turning a sickly, grayish-green color. The wind had picked up, and Letty was mulling over, for the sixth time that hour, how pissed she was that Dom had chosen today of all days to drive to Santa Barbra to pick up a part for one of the cars in the shop._

_Theresa had called earlier, warning her of the impending storm, letting her know it was going to be bad. Letty had tracked down the flashlight and candles, setting them on the kitchen table before checking all the windows, making sure they were locked up. She changed into a tank top and shorts she could sleep in and brought the comforter from her bed downstairs and tossed it on the back of the couch. She had called Dom, but had to leave him a voicemail._

_The house was locked up except for the front door, and Letty went into the kitchen to start making stir fry._

_It was pouring rain by the time Dom got back. She had finished her dinner and left him the rest on the stove twenty minutes ago._

_She cursed when he came through the front door. "Shit! I was starting to think you weren't gonna get back tonight." Letty glanced as his wet clothing. "I'll get you a towel", she muttered, taking the stairs two at a time._

_He had his shirt off by the time she was coming back downstairs. Letty tossed him the bath towel before going back to sit on the couch to watch the weather._

"_Thanks", he nodded at her._

"_Dinner's on the stove unless you grabbed something on the way back", she offered. "Have what you want or put the rest away. I ate already."_

"_Haven't eaten since lunch", he said, heading for the kitchen. "I was trying to get back before the storm hit. I got your message."_

"_Yeah... Theresa called earlier. She said it was gonna be bad. And if the weather man is telling the truth, it might not let up until morning __**at least**__. The wind is picking up already."_

"_Power's gonna go out", Dom called._

"_Probably", Letty agreed reluctantly._

"_It happens every time. The wind always knocks it out."_

"_Great", she muttered under her breath. She watched TV for a while before she heard the water running in the kitchen sink for a few minutes before Dom came back into the living room with the candles, matches, and flashlight._

"_Thanks for cooking. I finished cleaning up the kitchen."_

_She just nodded._

_He set the candles where they were supposed to go and lit them after tossing her the flashlight. She set it on the floor on the side of the couch._

_He headed upstairs once he finished. "I'm gonna change."_

_She groaned softly under her breath. __**Avoiding Dom was going to be impossible if the electricity was down all night.**_

_It wasn't even two minutes later that she heard the loud popping noise and the house went black. She yelped involuntarily._

"_You alright?" he shouted._

"_Yeah", she grumbled as he came back downstairs in a dry t-shirt and shorts. "Just scared the shit outta me."_

"_Not scared of the dark, are ya?" he teased._

_She stuck her tongue out. "No."_

"_We'll probably be out most of tomorrow too", he said glancing out the window. "It looks like the block is out."_

"_Great", she muttered. "There's fuck all to do with no electricity."_

"_Yeah, and I'd hate for you to have to do that whole 'talking to me' thing you've been avoiding all summer", he said eyeing her shrewdly._

"_Man, I talk to you every damn day", she rolled her eyes. Letty very carefully did not move when he sat next to her on the couch._

"_Don't play me, Let. You know what I'm saying. It's gonna be you and me in the dark most of the night, baby. Let's just deal with this… because clearly, my waiting you out isn't going to work."_

"_I don't know what you think we need to talk about this for. We fooled around a bit one night - end if story", she said blandly._

"_Letty, what the hell are you so afraid of?"_

_She stared across the room, knowing he wasn't going to let her out of this conversation again. "I don't want to lose you, Dom. And if we take this further-"_

"_I don't know how you can look at me and not know how much I care about you", he growled._

"_**God**__- I know you do", she admitted softly. "But you, your mom... Mia- that's all I have, Dom. If that gets messed up..." she shook her head in frustration. "My dad went to New York, which I get. I didn't want to go, so he left me here. But I haven't seen my mom in over two years. And you... you're my best friend. And I love you, okay? But between the two of us, we don't know anything about relationships. And you enjoy playing the field. You're a good guy, but I'm never gonna be like those girls you play with."_

_Dominic absorbed everything she said, and the information he thought he was reading between the lines. He knew her so well, there was really no point in her not saying what she was thinking, but she never did share her emotions well. And when she kept them locked away, sometimes even he couldn't get at them._

"_Look at me." He sighed as she stared the black television screen. "__**Letty**__", he gave her fair warning before grasping her chin gently and turning her to face him. She met his gaze with a fair amount of annoyance, but that didn't stop him from studying her face. Finally he cursed. "Dammit, Let", he sighed. "If I had known you thought I was just playing with your feelings, I would have straightened this shit out a month ago."_

"_That's not what I said", she protested._

"_Oh, I know", he rolled his eyes. "But I know you better. Even when you think I don't."_

"_Stalker", she grumbled teasingly._

"_I wouldn't hurt you like that", he said softly._

_Her head snapped in his direction angrily. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Dominic", she snapped, shoving herself off the couch to begin pacing the living room._

_He stood up as well, ready for the impending fight, but didn't approach her. "What gives you the right to be so goddamn cynical?"_

"_Are you kidding me?! Take a look at my life, Dom! Where would I possibly get the idea that a relationship could work long-term?"_

"_I'm right here!" he shouted. "I've always been here! How much more consistency do you want?!"_

"_You don't love me", she said tensely. "Not like that. We've had a few awkward moments, and suddenly you want to make something out of this-"_

"_You don't get to tell me how I feel about you, Let", he interrupted, "Because you clearly have no idea. You walk around like your untouchable, and nothing affects you. I __**know**__ what you've been through, and how much it tears you up inside. And that's why you're scared. You think if we get any closer, I'll end up hurting you or leaving you. Would you even leave __**now**__, Let? Seriously? Because I think if anyone would be doing the leaving, it'd be you."_

"_You're lucky you're too far away for me to take a swing at you", she said flatly._

"_You can get as pissed as you want, but it's still the truth", he shook his head and stepped into her space cautiously. "You don't want anyone close to you like that because it would hurt if they left. If you need me to prove that I'm serious, I will. But you've got to stop pretending that this isn't happening." He closed the space between them, his knuckles brushing her cheek gently._

_Her eyes closed reluctantly as she turned into his touch. "Dom-"_

"_I'm not going anywhere", he promised softly._

"_I need you to mean it", she whispered._

_Both his hands curled around her jaw. "I do. Have some faith, Let."_

_Letty met his gaze curiously, studying him, and seconds later she stood up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. It didn't take him long to get with the program. One of his hands settled on her lower back, pulling her closer, the other twined in her hair to rest against the nape of her neck._

"_Now- don't get any ideas… calling me cutesy nicknames like honey, or sweetie-" she mumbled against his mouth._

_Dominic laughed, "Wouldn't dream of it."_

"_And if you even think about getting frisky with another girl, remember I know how to shoot."_

_He raised an eyebrow and then tapped her chin. "No more dates", he growled seriously._

_She smirked. "That really pissed you off, didn't it?"_

"_Damn right it did", he muttered._

"_For the record, I wasn't trying to make you jealous. And it didn't mean anything", she promised softly._

_He pressed his mouth against the juncture of her neck, sucking lightly, and scraping gently with his teeth. His lips left a hot trail up the column of her neck, licking at her chin before teasing her lips with his own._

_She walked them back to the couch, and he sat down, pulling her into his lap._

_Letty felt dizzily drunk at the way his lips and tongue were pulling at hers as they kissed slowly, mouths becoming intimate as they tasted each other, hands groping over clothing._

_She finally whimpered against his mouth. "Stop", she complained, irritable with the way he was tormenting her. Letty caught one of his hands and pressed it against her ribcage. "You're- damn __**flutters**__", she growled in frustration, words failing her._

_He pulled back with a soft laugh. "You've got butterflies in your stomach?" he murmured, hand spanning her flat stomach._

"_You're making me crazy", she nodded heatedly._

"_That's a good thing, you know. I love knowing I make you feel like this."_

"_I never wanted to fall for you", she said quietly._

_He raised an eyebrow. "I'll try not to take that the wrong way."_

_Her mouth curve slightly upward on one side before she pressed her forehead against his collarbone. "You know what I mean."_

_His hands kneaded at her lower back gently, waiting for her to relax. Letty finally turned her head, pressing her mouth against his jaw, fingers gripping his shoulders as her tongue flicked against the skin just under his ear. She moaned softly as his hands slipped under the back of her shirt, a finger sliding under her bra, pulling lazily to get her attention._

"_Let", he growled against her shoulder._

_She shuddered, feeling his fingers brush her shoulder blades, and nodded. "S'okay."_

_Letty wondered absently why he hadn't removed her tank top off as well when her bra was tossed to the floor, but forgot about it as he squeezed her breasts gently through her shirt. She arched against his touch, sighing with pleasure._

_His hand slid down her waist and skimmed her bare thighs as she twisted her fingers in the bottom of his t-shirt before she tugged at it. "Take it off", she ordered softly._

"_Yeah?"_

_She nodded, slipping her hands underneath, fingertips exploring almost lazily. "Dom, c'mon."_

_He leaned forward slightly and let her help him take his shirt off, and she had to swallow the whine of pleasure she got from seeing his bare chest. Letty leaned against him, licking at his lips until he opened his mouth._

_Their tongues engaged in friendly battle for several minutes before Dom started inching up her shirt, and he pulled back slightly. "You wanna take this upstairs?" he asked seriously. __**He knew if they were peeling clothing off, things would get heated between them quickly.**_

_Letty blinked at him hazily. "Huh?"_

_He chuckled, moving to pull the band from her hair carefully before raking his hands through her hair and massaging her neck. "Upstairs", he repeated easily, "Yes or no."_

_She leaned into his touch as his thumbs pressed into her tense muscles, and finally shook her head. "Not upstairs. Electricity off- no A/C… it's gonna be hot as hell up there."_

"_You wanna stop grinding on me then?" he said dryly, glancing down to where she was rubbing against him slowly._

_She raised her eyebrows in surprise and let out a quiet laugh. "Who said anything about stopping?"_

_He groaned as she pressed down on him more firmly. "Let-"_

"_**Shh**__", she insisted, putting his hands back on her waist and lifting her arms up. "Off", she said seriously._

_Her shirt was pulled over her head, and tossed to the floor quickly._

_Dominic pulled her mouth down to his, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck to her shoulder. "You're fuckin' __**gorgeous**__", he murmured hotly._

_She gasped softly, fingers clenching against his biceps, her blood felt like it had turned to molten lava in her veins. She continued the slow, circular movement of her hips as she instinctively tried to gain more friction between them. "Dom- I need-"_

_Her plea was cut off as he moved, holding her against him as he stretched out on the couch with her straddling his hips._

"_Come 'ere, baby." His hands on her hips encouraged her to crawl over him until her hands planted on the couch cushion on either side of his head. Dominic eyed her breasts that were hanging tantalizingly over his face, and leaned up to take one in his mouth, cupping the other and gently rolling it in his hand._

_She moaned softly, head dipping over his. Her lips brushed his skin above his eyebrows and down the side of his face as he pulled her opposite breast into his mouth, tongue flicking over her nipple._

_Finally she pulled back, taking a minute to catch her breath and make her brain cells function beyond feeling his touch. He let her sit up, but his hands wandered down the back of her shorts teasingly, cupping her backside, squeezing forcefully enough to surprise an audible groan from her mouth._

_He glanced up at her, definitely appreciating the view of her straddling him while topless. "What's up?"_

_She smirked, snapping her fingers playfully. "Eyes are up here, big guy."_

_His mouth twitched and he shifted his hips under her slightly. "I'll take that compliment."_

_She chuckled, and had to bat his hands away when he moved to grope her chest some more. "I can't think when you're pulling moves on me, Toretto."_

"_Hey, I said 'what's up' and you commented on my package. Who's pulling moves on who, here?" he teased._

"_Sure, blame the virgin", she quipped sarcastically._

_He grinned. "Okay, okay, why are we stopping so you can think?"_

"_Not enough room on the couch", she said finally. "Can we, ya know-" Letty gestured to her comforter draped on the end of the couch, and then to the floor._

_Dom nodded and sat up, lifting her off him and setting her back on the couch while he shook her blanket out and let it take up most of the living room floor. He tugged her up from the couch, and pulled her grey shorts down, letting her step out of them while she tugged the button on his cargo shorts, and then pulled down the zipper._

_Once they were both down to one item of clothing, Dominic rolled her underneath him on the floor._

_He hovered over her. "Better?"_

_She nodded and kissed the side of his chin, "Yeah. Thanks."_

_His mouth grazed her cheekbone as he settled her into the crook of his arm. Letty's head tilted back slightly, eyes fluttering at his touch. She shifted her right arm slightly, letting her elbow rest against his hip as she slid her hand into his boxers, curling around his length. He was resting on his side to watch her properly as his free hand explored her body… fingers trailing softly over her neck and collarbone, thumb brushing against each of her nipples before sliding down and dipping into her navel, and then curling his hand around her hip._

"_Dom?" she questioned hesitantly as her hand pumped his erection slowly._

"_It's okay", he groaned, "Just like that."_

_His hand slipped down between her thighs, pushing the cotton material aside and sliding a finger inside her slowly, letting out a pleased growl at her wetness._

_She cursed, hips jerking against his touch. "__**Dominic**__", she moaned, shifting against him restlessly, needing more._

_He pulled her hand from him gently, and stretched out over her._

"_You sure?" he asked seriously, fingers hooked in the waistband of her black thong._

_She groaned. "God, that is just like you. Why the hell would you wait until I'm convinced to go along with this before changing your mind?"_

"_I haven't", he shook his head. "I'm giving you a chance to change yours. Don't do this if you'll regret it."_

_Letty returned his serious gaze, reaching up to cup the side of his face. "I won't", she promised softly._

"_Not gonna freak out in the morning?" he raised an eyebrow, sitting back on his knees between her legs._

_Her eyes rolled back as he lifted her left leg, resting her foot on his shoulder as he pressed his mouth against the side of her knee. "Nuh-uh", she shook her head roughly._

"_Okay", he nodded, reaching for her again, tugging her thong down over her hips as she shifted slightly, and pulling them down her legs to discard with the rest of their clothing. His tongue flicked out over her thighs, pelvic bones, and then a spot on her stomach that made her whole body tighten._

_Her legs tightened around him before he could make his way back downward again, and she reached for him. "Please- I need you inside me. No more teasing."_

_He met her gaze, and finally nodded, pulling away slightly, leaning back to grab a pillow from the couch and a condom from his wallet. He let her move to put it under her lower back, before taking his boxers off, and rolled the condom on, making room for himself between her thighs. He slid two fingers inside her easily, brushing his thumb over her clit before removed them._

_She drew in a breath as his erection pressed against her heated core, and he rocked against her gently._

"_Gotta relax for me, okay?"_

_Letty nodded as he lined himself up with her entrance, meeting his eyes as he pressed into her slowly._

_She shifted slightly underneath him as he stretched her, trying to make more room for him to fit inside her more comfortably._

_She gasped softly as he finally bottomed out inside her. The adrenaline from their previous activities was fading from her bloodstream, but the weight of his body on top of her, and the way he seemed to surround her body gave her an indescribable feeling of warmth she'd never experienced before._

_**Thankfully, she hadn't had to deal with the pain of him puncturing through her hymen – her mother's analogy of a spear stabbing through her vagina the last time they'd talked about sex was not something she wanted to think about at the moment…**_

_**But he held still, waiting for her inner muscles to make room for him anyway.**_

_His thumbs rubbed circles on her hipbones as she rocked up against him gently. "You okay?"_

"_Yeah", she muttered breathlessly._

_He pulled out about half-way, and then pushed in again slowly._

_She let out a whimper, "__**Fuck.**__"_

"_Still okay?" he asked curiously, withdrawing again._

_Letty met his thrust with her own. "Yeah, __**ah**__- faster", she pleaded._

_He began to roll his hips against hers at a steady pace as he grazed his teeth over her clavicle. He absorbed the way she was splayed out underneath him, fingers twisting in her comforter, head tilted back as she bit her bottom lip – only slightly smothering the noise coming from her mouth – and the feel of her toes curling against the back of his thighs._

"_Feels good, baby?" he murmured in her ear._

_She let out a panting moan, "God, __**yes**__. Don't fucking stop."_

_0_

_They lay next to each other on the living room floor over an hour later, Letty's head resting in the crook of his elbow._

"_Tell me something", he said quietly._

_She turned her head to look up at him for a second before staring at the ceiling._

"_I miss my mom", she said after a minute._

_His fingers ran through her hair soothingly, staying silent as she fought to keep her emotions in check._

"_She left because she wanted to… but my dad made sure she couldn't take me with her. Sometimes- I really hate him for that."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Connecticut is too cold for me to like it anyway", she muttered._

"_Let-"_

"_Don't", she interrupted roughly._

_His arm tightened against her briefly. "You ever want to go see her, I'll go with you, you know. No questions asked."_

_She shrugged, "Yeah, maybe."_

_Dominic let her have her silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "You're not planning on running off in the morning, are you?"_

_Letty shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere."_

00

Letty's father's arrival was imminently closer. She sat alone on the balcony with a glass of red wine while Dominic took a shower that evening, considering the events of the last few weeks.

She was unhappy with the fact that she might now owe Salvatore a _favor_. But she wouldn't be going along with that until she could prove he hadn't been behind her being taken into custody for questioning in the first place.

If that _was_ the case, her father might regret that despite his protective nature, he'd raised quite the hell-raiser.

Until she had enough information… _she'd reserve her judgment._

00

**A/N: Okay first off, are you all still alive? Did you hit the floor from hotness overload? I pretty much did while I was writing this… so, yeah. Head check? What was this chapter even about?**

**Okay, so, the pot is being stirred. I'm already excited to plot out the next chapter. Anyone interested in a flashback to the younger years in the next chapter? I've got a piece, and I think it would fit nicely with that chapter's plot-line… It's going to be a bit mopey-ish, surrounding the loss of Dom and Mia's father, but Dom and Letty get some good 'friend moments'.**

**Let me know what you think about this chapter, although, maybe not graphically! **


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